Weirs Closed

[Smalls]

Originally Posted by noodle creek

I feel like this concept should be re-thought. Waterfowl can literally go almost anywhere there is a little bit of water. That marsh is not very big in the grand scheme of waterfowl habitat in the state of louisiana. On the other hand, southwest louisiana has one estuary, and that should be the main concern IMO.

That's the purpose of every NWR. They aren't going to re-write the definition of an NWR for just because of where it is situated. The weirs are not operated by USFWS anymore and even so, the intent was not to manage for a given group of species, but to manage the marsh as a whole.

It just so happens that land behind the weirs is managed for waterfowl, and waterfowl benefit from lower salinity environments because the overwhelming majority of waterfowl food occurs in brackish and intermediate marsh, which is what the area is maintained as.

So, it is easy to assume the weirs are for management of waterfowl habitat, but they are not. They are in place to keep a delicate ecosystem in balance, by keeping salinities low enough to sustain those plant communities.

Also, NWRs are created through duck stamp funds. They can't re-write the definition of an NWR, and then continue to fund it with money meant for waterfowl management if the written purpose is not waterfowl management.