Haying of Public Conservation Lands for Habitat Management and Potential Use of Biomass in Commercial Contexts

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Leopold Wetland Management District (District) manages more than 13,000 acres of Waterfowl Production Areas (WPAs) in 17 Wisconsin counties. The District is interested in late or dormant season haying as a supplemental tool to prescribed fire for habitat management. The District also sees potential for use of the haying byproducts (i.e., biomass) as a bioenergy source contributing to agency goals to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and reduce carbon footprint. The District has partnered with University of Wisconsin–Madison to conduct a 3-yr evaluation of annual harvest on WPAs for understanding whether and how production and harvest of diverse perennial herbaceous plant communities within WPAs fulfills habitat management goals; the degree to which harvested materials are technologically and economically feasible for a variety of end-uses; whether and to what degree harvested materials contribute to formation of local supply/value chains while delivering ecosystem service benefits across geographic and ecological scales.  Twelve WPAs within three differing landscape types are included in the study. The study is designed to evaluate effects of harvest at the level of WPAs and at the level of surrounding landscapes, and to understand possible interactions of in-field and landscape processes. Research studies include waterfowl production surveys; grassland bird surveys; evaluation of impacts to native bee populations and those of natural enemy insects; analysis of soil biota, soil biogeochemical and plant community impacts of harvest; and harvest/landscape context interactions