Spring migrants and summer residents are starting to return to the Indreland Audubon Wetland Preserve (IAWP). Large numbers of male Red-winged Blackbirds are back in force. A male Northern Harrier is making an appearance. Eight Sandhill Cranes have been spotted at the IAWP. Hopefully one or more pairs will utilize the area for nesting again this year. At any rate, birds are or will soon be making claims to nesting areas.
With the new construction project now taking place at Village Crossing, there is a resulting loss of what many people have long used as a place to exercise their dogs. So please be aware that on the IAWP, dogs must be on a leash and only allowed on the upper railroad berm and trestle.
Keep a lookout for the beavers that have built a lodge near the end of the historic railroad berm. We may soon be seeing young beavers. If so, these will be the first baby beavers seen from the berm since the wetland was drained back in 2009—even more reason to keep all dogs on leash and only on the railroad berm.
Since the beavers are active, our IAWP Busy Beavers have been out working on the beaver deceiver in further attempts to limit the extent the beavers are allowed to dam up the water at the base of the berm. If you are interested in learning about how beaver deceivers work, check out Bozemanwetlands.org for summer announcements. Sacajawea Audubon Society Board member Billy Burton will give a presentation on beaver deceivers at a yet-to-be-determined date—watch for an announcement.
Members of the Wetland Preservation Project met mid April to discuss the proposed Wetland Mitigation Bank at the IAWP with the Interagency Review Team. Construction of the ponds and berms at the IAWP cannot start until the wetland mitigation bank instrument has been finalized. Questions? Contact wetlands@sacajaweaaudubon.org
