A wire fence now runs around the borders of the Gislason Lake unit of the Northern Tallgrass Prairie National Wildlife Refuge, near the border of Lyon and Lincoln Counties. The Gislason Lake unit, along with two Waterfowl Production Areas in Lyon County, will be part of a short-term grazing program aimed at keeping the grassland healthy.

A recent change at an area wildlife refuge drew some attention from the public, Brandon Semel said. A wire fence was built on land surrounding Gislason Lake, near the border of Lyon and Lincoln County.

“As soon as people saw that fence go up on Highway 19, we had a lot of calls,” said Semel, a biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Semel said the fence was built in preparation for a short-term grazing program, that would affect the land around Gislason Lake as well as two Waterfowl Production Areas (WPAs) in Lyon County. This week, the Big Stone Wetland Management District and the Northern Tallgrass Prairie National Wildlife Refuge announced that they are looking for grazing bids from interested cattle producers.

Bids are being sought for the Gislason Lake unit of the Northern Tallgrass Prairie National Wildlife Refuge, as well as the Yellow Medicine WPA in western Lyon County, and the Bendix II WPA north of Garvin.

“We hope we can get some grazing in there,” Semel said.

Having some grazing on the land would help control plant species like smooth brome, as well as creating different lengths of grass that are attractive to different animal species, Semel said.

In the past, there has been some grazing done on WPA and wildlife sites in the area, but it’s been a little infrequent, Semel said.

The bidding process for grazing on the three sites will be different compared to past years, Semel said. In the past, there would be more defined requirements for where grazing animals could be and when, he said.

“We’re kind of opening things up a little bit more,” to allow for more flexibility for grazers, Semel said. Bids will be evaluated not only based on a dollar amount, but on a point system for how well a grazing plan matched up with grassland management goals for the three sites.

Grazing on the three sites would start around May 15, the Fish and Wildlife Service said. Under the grazing program, cattle producers could graze the land for a maximum of two years. Semel said it’s hoped that the short-term grazing would be beneficial to the three sites in the long run, while minimizing any negative impacts to nesting birds.

Sealed bids for the grazing program are due by noon on Wednesday, Feb. 14, at the Big Stone Wetland Management District office in Odessa, Minnesota. Producers with questions about the program, or who want to request a bid packet, can contact Semel at 320-273-2191, extension 2508.