Marsh wildlife affected by drought

HORICON - The Horicon Marsh in Fond du Lac and Dodge counties - one of the largest freshwater marshes in the country - is losing lots of water and wildlife in the wetlands are being threatened by the summer drought.

The water levels in the marsh are near record lows, but as FOX 11 found out, there are also some benefits to the dry-out.

The Horicon Marsh stretches across 33,000 acres and it's home to nearly 300 kinds of birds.

"We're a wetland of international importance and a huge stopover for ducks and other birds," said Diane Kitchen, Assistant Refuge Manager of the marsh working for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

But the birds and other animals are suffering from the drought.  According to the DNR, the water is down to the lowest levels experts can recall.

"Earlier in the summer we had a fish die-off," said Kitchen.

Kitchen told us the lower and warmer the water gets, the less oxygen there is for fish.  She said the birds are suffering too, thanks something called avian botulism.

"Because of the lower water levels, the ducks have access to that bacteria and they start dying," said Kitchen

But the drought isn't all bad. It helps expose mud flats where plants can grow that are helpful to migrating birds. Officials actually planned a draw-down of water in the marsh for this reason, so the drought actually helped.

"There's a lot of Walter's millet and some sedges and rushes and smart weed.  When the birds migrate through, that'll be just a feast for them to feed on," said Kitchen.

But birds aren't the only species migrating through the marsh. People from all across the world visit on vacation.

Leslie Herschberger is the Executive Director of Friends of Horicon Marsh. She told FOX 11 the marsh is important to local economies, because it brings in tourists and their money.

"A lot of people like to go canoeing and hiking and we have seen a little decline in those sorts of activities because of the heat," said Herschberger.
 
Despite this, Herschberger told us it's still been a successful summer at the Friends of the Horicon Marsh International Education Center.

"We've actually seen an increase in numbers this year," said Herschberger.

Still, she said , a little more rain and a little less heat could do a lot of good.

Kitchen says the recent rain has brought the water levels up a few inches in the marsh. This has helped the fish habitat and also helps wash away the bacteria causing avian botulism.