Nestled along the Snake River south of Jackson is the South Park Wildlife Habitat Management Area (WHMA), a beautiful spot that provides important wetland, riparian, and meadow habitat for a wide array of wildlife. Songbirds and amphibians can be found among the cottonwood galleries, while shorebirds and waterfowl inhabit the marshes, which are also important migration stopovers for waterbirds.
Unfortunately, this WHMA has been cut off from its natural connection to seasonal floods, which trigger important ecosystem restoration processes. To maintain a healthy wetlands ecosystem, the goal of this project is to enhance the WHMA by converting fields into shallow-water wetlands and reconnecting old channel scars in the cottonwood galleries to the Snake River. These efforts will raise the water table and provide more habitat for migrating waterbirds. Additionally, the project will install new infrastructure in the wetland ponds, which filter water from the Jackson Wastewater Treatment Plant before the water reaches Flat Creek.
The budget for this project is approximately $1 million, and WYldlife for Tomorrow is proud to have donated $25,000 towards its completion.
This project is being conducted in partnership with Ducks Unlimited, Inc., Environmental Protection Agency, Friends of Jackson Hole, North American Wetland Conservation Act, Teton County Conservation District, The Nature Conservancy, Water For Wildlife Foundation, Town of Jackson, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, Wyoming Water Development Commission, and Wyoming Wildlife Natural Resources Trust.
