The nesting platforms, which sit out in a lake, are a relatively safe haven for nesting waterfowl, says Wollenberg. The floating nest structures follow a fairly simple construction. A triangular floating platform made of plastic pipes and a wooden frame is anchored in the marsh with a rope and cement block. The anchor and the shape of the structure allow it to remain upright even when swaying in the strong winds that continually blow from South Dakota. Two wire cylinders, interwoven with hay, are attached to the wooden platform.
Additional hay produces a great, if unconventional, nesting site.
In the mid-1990s, Louisburg hunter Win Mitchell and his waterfowling partners began building nesting structures and adding them to the ones Wollenberg installed. It's a lot of work, and considerable expense. The structures must be maintained each year, removed in late summer, and then put out again in the spring so that winter ice doesn't tear them apart. Ducks Unlimited, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Minnesota Waterfowl Association have helped share these costs. The labor is shared by the local hunters and Lac qui Parle WMA staff.