
DUCK PRODUCTION STUDIES 
ON THE PRAIRIE POTHOLES OF SOUTH DAKOTA 
The grasslands in the glaciated portions of the Dakotas and western 
Minnesota, along with the Prairie Provinces of Canada, have long been 
recognized’'as prime waterfowl breeding habitat. There, the uneven glacial 
deposits have created rolling uplands almost unaffected by natural drainage. 
Because the drainage is slight and the soil heavy, nearly every depression 
holds water in spring. The water areas vary from small, temporary puddles | 
to lakes of many hundred acres; these areas may number up to a hundred or | 
more to the square mile and are often spoken of as “potholes.” | 

Depending on the character of the glaciation and its age, the potholes 
in a particular area may be predominantly large and shallow, small and deep, 
or more or less heterogeneous. In some parts of the glaciated prairies, 
water is a critical item, and most of the ponds are dry at the end of a 
"normal" summer. In other parts, it is extremely rare for all to go dry. 
Owing to the high fertility of most of the glacial deposits, there is an 
abundance of plant and animal food for waterfowl. 
The extent of the glaciated upland prairies of the Dakotas and Min- 
nesota is shown in figure 1. It has been estimated (Nord et al. 1951) 
that more than 9 percent of the continental waterfowl production comes 
from these regions. In times past, the extent of productive breeding hab- 
itat was considerably larger. Drainage of land for agricultural use has 
eliminated all but a small percentage of the water areas in Lowa and south- 
western Minnesota, where more even topography, better soils, and greater 
accessibility made drainage more profitable. 
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Since 1945, drainage has been greatly accelerated by the stimulus of 
high farm prices and: by the encouragement of the Department of Agriculture 
through technical assistance and direct payments to farmers. These stimuli 
have brought the drainage program into the rolling upland regions shown in. 
figure 1. In these regions, previously little affected by drainage, Nord 
and associates (1951) estimated for the years 1945 to 1950 an annual loss 
of 2 percent of the original water areas. 
Largely through the efforts of F. T. Staunton, then Manager of the 
Waubay National Wildlife Refuge, and D. H. Janzen, Regional Director, the 
Fish and Wildlife Service became concerned with the problem. In 1950 a 
project was initiated by the Office of River Basin Studies to "determine 
the extent, distribution, and numbers of small water areas formerly and now 
present in the prairie pothole region of the Dakotas and Minnesota; to 
determine their importance to wildlife, the factors bringing about their 
disappearance, and to develop, if possible, methods for their preservation, 
if that appears warranted." 
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