By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Near the height of the drought, officials at Cheyenne Bottoms thought 10 inches of rain in a short period of time might help refill the wetlands. The experiment has failed. Bottoms Wildlife Manager Jason Wagner said the 10 inches of rain that have fallen near headquarters since June have barely made a visible impact.
"Direct rainfall over the Bottoms doesn't really do much," he said. "It did saturate the soil, and it creates sheet water that stands there for a little while, but it doesn't do much to actually fill it up."
Wagner often monitors gauges of nearby water supplies that feed the Bottoms, but the Wet Walnut Creek has stopped flowing near Albert, and the Arkansas River is stagnant as well. But Wagner is hopeful that area rains will still benefit wildlife in the future.
"The one good thing about the direct rain we've had over the Bottoms, what is has done is it's done a good job of bringing a pretty good flush of food available if we would get water," he said. "It's not excellent, I wouldn't say, but there's pretty good food available in most of the pools."
Soil moisture throughout March and April is required for even better food sources. Wagner said if water continues to collect at the Bottoms, the plants will be a good food source for waterfowl. If the water does not come, the plants will become an excellent food source for pheasants later on.