The West Chain Lake project will allow managers to manage the water levels to provide 178 acres of optimum waterfowl habitat. It will also provide more water storage since the water level will be about three feet higher. Elsperger Marsh is 230 acres of subirrigated wetland that was enhanced by constructing an earthen embankment and installing a water control structure. The marsh will be managed as a seasonal wetland that will be flooded in the spring or late fall and the water drawndown in late spring and early summer. The drawdown is important to keep the marsh from becoming choked with emergent vegetation.
Seasonal wetlands are very attractive to breeding waterfowl.
The shallow warm water provides an abundance of plant seeds and invertebrates that are essential for egg formation and regeneration of flight feathers during molt. Before the acquisition of Lake Alice for a National Wildlife Refuge, the local farmers constructed a dike around the lake. The dike was to keep water out of the lake after it had been pumped dry in an attempt to farm the lake bottom. When it became apparent that this was not feasible the land was sold to the U. S. government and a refuge was established. Many portions of the dike are to low and some areas have been breached during the recent flooding.