The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) has scheduled a drawdown for the Wham Brake Impoundment on Russell Sage Wildlife Management Area (WMA) to control giant cutgrass (Zizaniopsis miliacea) and promote desired moist soil vegetation.
The drawdown is scheduled to begin on Wednesday (July 16) and should gradually dewater the impoundment. Boaters may still access the brake but caution is advised as numerous hazards will be present.
Once the drawdown is complete, an aerial herbicide application will be implemented to treat approximately 1,000 acres of giant cutgrass. Thereafter, water levels will be managed to promote moist soil vegetation to provide wintering waterfowl habitat.
Wham Brake was donated to LDWF in 2013 by International Paper. In 2017, with assistance from Ducks Unlimited, LDWF utilized funding from the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA), to construct a series of water control structures that allows LDWF to manage the impoundment for wintering waterfowl habitat.
For more information on Russell Sage WMA, go to https://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/page/russell-sage.
For more information on the North American Wetlands Conservation Act, go to https://www.fws.gov/service/north-american-wetlands-conservation-act-nawca-us-standard-grants.
For more information, contact Mitch McGee at 318-343-4044 or mmcgee@wlf.la.gov .