(Fremont County, WY) – The Wyoming Game and Fish Department issued an advisory this week notifying waterfowl hunters that Ponds 1 and 2 at Ocean Lake Wildlife Habitat Management Area and Reservoir 2 at Sand Mesa WHMA will remain dry for cattail management.
Ponds 1 and 2 at Ocean Lane WHMA will remain dry through next summer and possibly next fall to continue the cattail management, the agency said in a Monday press release, while Reservoir 2 at Sand Mesa WHMA will be kept mostly dry this fall and winter to allow for the management of both cattails and salt cedar.
Sand Mesa Ponds 4, 5, 6 and 7 and the nearby shallow-water wetlands will have water and provide opportunities for waterfowl hunting this season, according to the press release.
The WGFD said it has worked “for many years to manage cattail encroachment in these areas, and keeping ponds dry is one step in this process.”
“Only recently and because of projects completed by Ducks Unlimited have we been able to drain these wetlands at Sand Mesa and intensively manage cattails and salt cedar,” Habitat and Access Biologist Justin Rhine said.
“Our goal is to return the ponds at Ocean Lake WHMA to open water, providing resting habitat for the waterfowl we manage on the WHMA while also providing more hunting opportunities for sportspeople.”
Maps and WHMA information for the Ocean Lake and Sand Mesa WHMAs are available on the Game and Fish website public access pages.
For more information call Rhine at (307) 448-0995.