MALLARD ISLAND - The arrowhead shaped peninsula with the island name is finally living up to its monicker.
Mallard Island, a castle without a moat for more than five years, is once again surrounded by the protective waters of Lake Sakakawea. Although the change has been welcomed by the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, the agency that manages and maintains the island, it was not expected.
Even the most optimistic water level forecasts for Lake Sakakawea this past spring had the reservoir rising to only about 1,814 feet above sea level. For that reason, it was expected that Mallard Island would remain connected to the mainland by a fairly well traveled trail that had become hardpacked by usage for the past several years. Workers thought that Mallard Island would not be surrounded by water until Sakakawea reached the 1,823 mark. Their guess was not far off the mark.
"We saw it coming and got some equipment moved off. I actually drove a pickup and tractor off the island on Thursday, July 3," said Robert Miller, wildlife technician stationed at the department's Riverdale office. "By Monday the 7th I needed a four-wheeler to drive through about 10 inches of water and by this past Monday it was up to my waist."
Miller and other Game and Fish employees who have continuing work to do on the island are no longer driving to work. They walk in waders and trudge through water that is nearly chest deep.
"That's just for now. We're going to go back to a boat here pretty quick, probably by the end of the week," added Miller.
Mallard Island is located north of Riverdale on the west side of the Snake Creek Embankment. It is about four miles long from east to west and nearly two miles across at its widest point. The Game and Fish Department carefully maintains food and habitat plantings on the island so that wildlife can reap the maximum benefit.
When surrounded by water, Mallard Island remained nearly free of natural predators. Hunters would have to make the extra effort to hunt Mallard Island, often making the crossing in boats laden with hunting gear. For the past five or so hunting seasons, hunters have been able to simply walk onto the island by crossing a lake bed overgrown with weeds and cottonwood trees. Now they'll have to load their boats once again or take their chances crossing the ice in late season if they wish to continue hunting on the island. Predators unwilling to make the swim will have to wait for freeze-up.
The primary wildlife residents of Mallard Island are white-tailed deer and pheasants. Both flourish among the special food plots and cover plantings. Other wildlife also finds the habitat irresistable. Sometimes a small herd of antelope will move onto the island. Moose have been known to take up residence. And then there's the waterfowl for which the island is named.
The Game and Fish Department has been able to enhance waterholes on the island during the past several years, taking advantage of moving heavy equipment onto the island without utilizing cumbersome barges. However, new holding ponds have not been filled and water control structures have remained idle because several years of low water in Lake Sakakawea left the island's pumping system high and dry.
"It's exciting now, though," said Miller. "We'll be able to turn the new pump on and have electric irrigation."
Although ducks and geese and shorebirds have been nesting on the island, it is likely that large numbers of waterfowl will return to Mallard Island this fall when they seek refuge from hunting pressure and take advantage of abundant food plantings. The island has been known for the great swarms of ducks and geese swirling overhead during the fall migration and now, completely surrounded by water, Mallard Island will once again be an inviting landing spot for migrants.
Fox, coyotes, badgers and racoons are among the furbearers that have been able to come and go to Mallard Island while the water was low. The rise in the reservoir means they will have to change their habits or remain island tenants.
"I saw the tracks where a coyote crossed the water the other night," said Miller. "Deer have been moving back and forth. The crossing is still narrow enough where they will challenge the water."
Lake Sakakawea hit the 1,823.7 mark Tuesday morning, more than 11 feet above the May 1, 2008, forecast. The July 1 outlook called for the reservoir to reach 1,822.5 by the end of July. With that mark already surpassed and the more closely calculated three week forecast predicting 1,826.1 feet by July 30, it appears a certainty that Mallard Island will remain an isolated wildlife paradise for several months to come.
