Once upon a time, they were in a drainage
ditch somewhere in Oklahoma City, but today, they are taking root in a
secluded mudflat area of Grand Lake. That is the journey some aquatic
plants have taken as part of an effort to enhance the habitat around the
shores of the lake. The project is coordinated through a technical
committee which oversees Grand Lake’s wildlife mitigation efforts. That
committee includes representatives from the Grand River Dam Authority,
Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB), Oklahoma Department of Wildlife
Conservation (ODWC), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Department, and other
agencies.
"In cooperation with the OWRB and the ODWC,
we [GRDA] have implemented a plan to introduce native aquatic plants in
the littoral zone of Grand Lake," said Dr. Darrell Townsend II, GRDA
superintendent of ecosystems management. "We hope this will improve the
ecosystem health of the Grand River Basin."
Both Paul Koenig and Owen Mills are with
the Lakes & Special Studies section of the OWRB, and both have been —
literally—knee deep in this project from the beginning. "This is the green
approach to a common problem in many Oklahoma lakes," said Koenig. "The
reservoirs are built but there’s no aquatic plants growing on the
shoreline [like nature intended]." He explained that these aquatic plants
help to prevent shoreline erosion, improve water quality and create fish
and wildlife habitat.
"We’re here to see how well we can get
aquatic plants to grow in the lake. Which plants will grow? Where will
they grow? What does it take to get them to grow? Most importantly, will
they expand across the lake? If we can get an expansion rate, then we can
make predictions on how long it will take to populate the lake."
"A variety of plants are being tested [in
Grand Lake]," he added. "We’ve got bull rush out on the east side. On both
sides of the lake we’ve planted some duck potato, some bass grass called
water willow... the submerged plants [are] pond weed and water star
grass." He explained that the submerged plants provide habitat for the
small fish to hide. They also absorb nutrients out of the water and put
oxygen back in the water, helping improve water quality.
Many of these plants and plot areas have
protected cages around them, in hopes that herbivorous fish and wildlife,
as well as the public, will leave them alone until they begin to flourish.
However, much like the millet-seeding project GRDA has done in the past,
this project is being done in some of the low traffic areas around the
shoreline.
"We also have some unprotected plants,"
said Mills, who serves as the project manager. "We’re going to see what
kind of results we get without installing the cages ... [we] spend a lot
of money and there is lots of labor involved in installing the cages."
This is the first year of this three-year
experimental program at GRDA. "We have a lot of knowledgeable people
working on the project," explained Townsend. "We’ll see what produced the
best results, and plan for the next year. If this is successful, aquatic
species such as bass grass and duck potato have the potential to produce
high quality habitat for fish recruitment and provide waterfowl species
with a high energy food source throughout the winter migration."
