Millions of migrating ducks, geese and other waterfowl will find fewer rest stops on their way south this fall — more fallout from a drought that has parched marshes, ponds and wildlife refuges on flyways between North and South America. Hurricane Isaac and its remnants are dumping heavy rains from the Gulf Coast to the Great Lakes, helping waterfowl conditions in the Mississippi and Ohio river valleys, but the storm missed drought-ravaged portions of the Plains and western USA, where ponds and refuges have dried up. Waterfowl populations are up, and healthy birds are coming off several lush years in prairie-pothole nesting grounds in Canada and the northern USA. The drought hit after robust hatches in the spring, when adequate water was present in the nesting areas, and late-August rains have helped. But conditions are so severe and widespread that migrating flocks have little margin of error, especially if drought continues into spring. "We have lucked out in terms of timing, but certainly the drought is cause for great concern," says Daniel Ashe, director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Biologists say cyclical drought is a necessary hardship for migrating birds because it kills predatory plants and animals that threaten the complex ecosystem they live in.

To view the full article, visit the USA Today. For a copy of the original article contact the WIP at (970) 247-1302 or stop by the office at 841 East Second Avenue in Durango, Colorado.