Kim Fundingsland/MDN Many sloughs in North Dakota are drying up due to a lack of soil moisture and no snowmelt or rainfall to replenish them. When water is adequate, sloughs contain an abundance of aquatic insects that are vital to a variety of wildlife, large and small. Ducks and geese often nest near sloughs where shorelines provide cover and open water provides both protection against predators and a valuable food source for young waterfowl.

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