EMBARRASS— State conservation funds are allowing the Tower area DNR office to begin a series of improvements that officials hope will make the Darwin Myers wildlife management area more attractive to both wildlife and human visitors.
The WMA is located along the Embarrass River at the site of a former system of cultivated “wild rice” paddies that fell into disuse decades ago. U.S. Steel purchased the site in the 1990s for wetland mitigation, but the company later transferred the site to the DNR.
But the site, which includes 42 separate “cells,” delineated by a series of dikes and other water control structures, had been falling into disrepair, limiting the ability of the DNR to maintain the wetland conditions designated for each of the 42 cells.
Despite that, the site remains a major draw for waterfowl and other birds and is a popular spot for birders as well as hunters during the waterfowl season. The Mesabi Trail also now runs through the site, further enhancing the recreational potential of the property— all of which helps make the case for improvements at the site.
The most recent improvements include the reconstruction of two water control structures affecting two of the cells on the north end of the WMA. According to Courtney Clark, with DNR wildlife, the cells are designated as deep or shallow marsh. Yet water levels in the cells were inconsistent due to the combined effects of beavers and erosion, which had created gashes in the surrounding dikes. Clark said eight of the cells within the WMA are designated as deep or shallow marsh and those cells require more stable water levels to maintain marsh conditions.
Contractors worked to unbury and repair two water control structures that had formerly maintained more consistent water levels in the cells.
The repair work has proven effective in one of the cells, located right along the Embarrass River. Clark said she had hoped the repairs would allow the cells to capture and hold more of the winter snowmelt. One of the cells is working well, she said, while the other initially appeared to to be losing more water than it should. She said some additional repairs appear to have slowed the water loss, so she’s hopeful that the conditions will improve when the area emerges from its current severe drought conditions.
Money for the repairs has come from the Reinvest In Minnesota, or RIM, program, which uses state bonding dollars to benefit conservation.
Clark said the DNR is hoping to continue to make improvements over time to maintain more consistent wetland conditions within the 750-acre WMA. She said each of the site’s 42 cells has a designated wetland type that they hope to maintain, so it’s a big job.
Clark has other projects in mind, including possibly restoring true wild rice to some of the deeper cells, which would be a boon to waterfowl, and possibly waterfowl hunters.
Clark said Tower wildlife officials are also considering the construction of an observation platform near the WMA’s main entrance parking lot so the public has a better vantage point to observe the wildlife that uses the WMA.
“Our goal to make the area more productive for wildlife and for the public,” she said.

Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story misspelled Clark's last name. The Timberjay regrets the error.