Ballard WMA Waterfowl - KDFWR

22/04/2024

Just a couple pictures from the area today!

30/03/2024

Ballard WMA is now seeking applicants for interim positions for 2024. If interested, please go to the KDFWR website under 'CAREERS' and apply for the posted position 24-01977 (select Ballard as county interested in working at). Any questions, feel free to call the WMA office at 270-224-2244.

25/03/2024

In the next couple days you may see staff performing prescribed burns on Coil Estate, Ballard WMA & Boatwright WMA which may cause temporary closure of some roads. Signage will be posted and/or support staff will help control access as different units are burned. Prescribed burns are a very effective method of improving and managing habitat on our WMA's.

06/01/2024

06/01/2024

Jan 6 2024-Habitat Update (Hill Ridge)

The Ohio River level has unfortunatly dropped below a level where we are able to operate our pump station. We was able to collect approximately a week's worth of water back in our larger basin's. We hope that with the weather fronts moving thru the region we will be able to re-start pumping operation's soon.

We have recieved 0.4" of rainfall in the last 24 hours which we are thankful for but hope that the region see's more in the near future.

Here is some photo's of the hunt units in Hill Ridge and the habitat surrounding each unit. Our refuged areas and traditional hunt units all have good water level's. We have had a very busy field season this year with lots of renovation's and repairs to infrastructures. We planted over 700 acres of wildlife corn plots on Ballard WMA and Boatwright WMA this past year. We also manipulated several thousand acres of habitat(Moist Soil Units) using various habitat practices such as spraying, disking, mulching/grinding and simple manipulation of water levels to mimic natural withdraw and drying periods.

We hope this information is helpful to our hunter's and can be used to improve your overall hunt experience. As we near the half-way mark of this season, I wanted to let everyone know that we have enjoyed interacting with our hunters and look forward to the later half of season.

For more information about the Ballard WMA Waterfowl - KDFWR hunt units such as maps, harvest data, and the most recent aerial/ground counts visit:

https://fw.ky.gov/Hunt/Pages/Waterfowl-Reports-and-Surveys.asp

05/01/2024

Early morning flight!

03/01/2024

Waterfowl Blind/Habitat Update-(Terrell Field)

Jan 3 2024

Terrell field hunt unit’s water level and habitat information. Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Forecast predict some precipitation this weekend with overnight temps dropping into the mid-low 20’s.

Like always if you have any questions please drop us a line.

31/12/2023

We were able to start pumping from river this morning! We will see how long it last…

31/12/2023

December 30, 2023

Hunt Unit-Waterfowl update

As we approach the end of our third week of regular season I wanted to take a moment and provide an update of conditions on some areas. The first areas are detailed below(Shelby Lake Field and Goose Pond Ridge). This season has proven to be as tough as we have ever seen. We have had a very busy growing season filled with 10”+ rains in late season drowning some crops and saving others to unprecedented low river levels that have prevented us from being able to pump from the Ohio river. We filled our impoundments with the mid-summer rains and have utilized those resources as conservatively as possible to ensure adequate refuge and hunt units had water. I ensure you every decision to drain/hold or move water has been with very specific intent and my staff and volunteers have been on top of it this year. There is always more that can be done of course! However, timing/budgets and of course uncontrollable variables like weather always contribute to those decisions.

Looking at flyway reports most of our birds we normally see this time of the season are still north of us. Reports indicate Illinois river and upper Mississippi River are 80% or more above the 10 year average holding birds this time of year. The milder temperatures correlate with birds burning fewer calories to maintain physical condition and translates to eating less which in turn mean less time foraging and more time loafing in heavy cover.

I intend to do a few post over the next week with similiar updates on hunt units and share some information on how units look going into the new year!

As always please drop me a line if you have any questions or concerns! My staff and I are very passionate about public hunting opportunity and making sure we have adequate habitat components needed within our refuge system.

Btw- Also below you will find a picture of our newly constructucted water control structure in Shelby Lake levee that will be crucial for facilitating the transport/exchange of water from the basin while the river pumps are operational.

Wes McFaddin

29/12/2023

Harvest totals from Ballard and Boatwright from the week before Christmas. It will eventually be posted on the KDFWR website but the webmaster was out this week. Hunting continues to be very tough. This unfortunately seems to be the case across much of the south. It’s incredibly disappointing for all of our great hunters to have such tough hunting. So much work and effort goes into getting these areas ready to hunt; it’s heartbreaking to not have ducks. Let’s hope things get better soon.

24/12/2023

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Ballard WMA!

Happy Holidays to you and yours this holiday season! Consider gifting your family and friends a hunting or fishing license, a Kentucky Afield Magazine subscr...

02/12/2023

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Ballard WMA Waterfowl Survey
(11-30-2023)

~22,700 Ducks

92.4% Mallards
5.7% Ring-necked
1.0% Gadwall
.9% Shoveler, G-W Teal, Pintail


~3300 White-fronted Geese

Waterfowl surveys available online-

https://fw.ky.gov/Hunt/Pages/Waterfowl-Reports-and-Surveys.aspx

23/11/2023

https://www.facebook.com/100064547990258/posts/734258442069082/?mibextid=Nif5oz

🦃🦃 HAPPY THANKSGIVING! 🦃🦃

We are thankful for the amazing fish and wildlife resources that Kentucky has to offer. We are also truly thankful for all license buyers, staff, proud supporters and partners who have made it possible to enjoy the conservation efforts and recreation opportunities in the state.

23/10/2023

There are big changes to the hunting experience coming to Boatwright WMA coming for the 2023-2024 season and beyond. We believe these changes, approved by the KDFWR Commission, will improve the hunting experience at Boatwright and make the rules there more similar to other waterfowl hunting WMAs like Ballard.

The best explanation of changes are found in the linked press release:

​​​​FRANKFORT, Ky. (Oct. 23​, 2023)– Hunting regulations at Boatwright Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in Ballard County have undergone significant revisions aimed at providing a better experience for hunters beginning with the 2023-24 season.​​

31/08/2023

It’s been a busy field season but we have been doing some great work lately. Dove fields are looking great! The sunflowers matured in early august and we was able to get in a prescribed burn on the wheat and oat fields earlier this week. We have over 100 acres of prepared dove fields on Ballard and couple of sunflower fields on Boatwright WMA as well. Remember Ballard and Boatwright WMA is Steel/Non-Toxic shot ONLY! For more info about dove hunting visithttps://fw.ky.gov/Hunt/Documents/DoveGuide.pdf

07/07/2023

Waterfowl Habitat Update- July 7 2023

Dry conditions this spring has allowed us the opportunity to manipulate many acres of habitat on Ballard and Boatwright WMA. The waterfowl hunt units are looking good, however we could use some rain as we’re borderline under drought conditions. We have planted approx 600 acres of corn this spring between Ballard and Boatwright WMA’s.

Stay tuned as we have many projects lined up and on-going this growing season!

05/07/2023

Just a quick update on the sunflower fields this morning! We are in full bloom so be sure to stop by and take a snapshot. Dove season is just around the corner.

04/07/2023

https://fb.watch/lzWz-FKX1K/?mibextid=YCRy0i

20/06/2023

Update: Humphreys Creek bridge is now reopened!

13/06/2023

Update-Ballard/Boatwright WMA Dove Fields

Sunflowers are coming along nicely and we had a good stand of wheat and oats on Ballard. We plan to burn 🔥 the wheat in mid-august dependant on weather of course. Once we get closer to time locations of all the fields will be described in the dove guide.

07/06/2023

Public Notice: Humphreys Creek bridge on Ballard WMA is closed temporarily. Please do not attempt to cross as barriers have been put in place. Access to Terrell Field will be from Sallie Crice Road on the south end of the area, but no through access permitted into the rest of the area due to the closure. All other access points to the management area are open, just no exit across bridge through Terrell Field. As soon as we can reopen the closure, a new notification will be posted.

21/03/2023

Got in some controlled burns this morning before the rain arrived. Thanks to our area staff and all our regional help to get these burns in today.

19/03/2023

In the next couple weeks you may see staff performing prescribed burns on Ballard WMA & Boatwright WMA which may cause temporary closure of some roads. Signage will be posted and/or support staff will help control access as different units are burned. Prescribed burns are a very effective method of improving and managing habitat on our WMA's.

09/03/2023

We haven’t posted in a while, so we wanted to update you about some exciting things planned for Ballard WMA.

The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources and Ducks Unlimited recently received a federal grant to make infrastructure improvements on the WMA. The grant funding will be used to build new water control structures on Shelby and Butler lakes, helping better handle water during flood events and from the new Ohio River pump station currently under construction in Shelby Lake Field. These new concrete water control structures will move water more efficiently than the existing pipes. As an added benefit, the project also will raise the elevation of the roads, improving access in times of high water.

To build these structures, the department is required to obtain state and Federal wetland permits and notice is required to appear in local papers. The recent public notice mentioned draining Shelby and Butler lakes for the construction. This has caused some concern, understandably, so we want to clarify.

If all goes well, construction will start this summer. Summer is chosen for construction for two reasons: First, it keeps our construction from impacting our management of ducks. Second, the lakes are traditionally at their lowest levels in summer. When construction begins, it is not our intention to completely drain these lakes but only draw them down enough to allow for construction activity. Based on the engineering, at worst case, there will still be 7 feet of water in Shelby Lake during construction. The lakes will be low, but not completely drained. It will resemble how the lakes look in times of drought.

We apologize for any inconvenience this project may cause, but the long-term good that will come from it will be tremendous

26/01/2023

Here are the hunt logs and reports for last week’s hunts at Ballard and Boatwright. Also, a big thank you to Mr. Keaton for sharing your picture. That’s a good looking haul!

18/01/2023

Last week’s harvest numbers from Ballard and Boatwright WMAs. Late season hunts can be tough but folks are staying after it. Unfortunately we just aren’t getting many fronts to move birds around.

10/01/2023

Harvest numbers from Ballard and Boatwright last week.

03/01/2023

January is setting records already with temps breaking into 70 degrees on Monday! A major storm Monday evening brought 3” of rain across the area. During today’s count Humphrey’s creek was spilling some serious water. The ballard count was as follows:

49,789 ducks
5,200 W/F Geese
20,000 Snow Geese

03/01/2023

The last two week's harvest numbers from Ballard and Boatwright WMAs. Sorry last week's is slow. Holidays always create a special set of problems when getting this information out. That said, you shouldn't worry to much about internet reports...hunt when you can and enjoy every minute! We do our very best to get this information to you as quick as possible but sometimes we just can't.

Cold weather made for some tough hunts but folks kept after it.

Check the comments on the individual images (dates are wrong on table). It's being updated on the website now. As always, harvest information can be found at: https://fw.ky.gov/Hunt/Pages/Waterfowl-Reports-and-Surveys.aspx

27/12/2022

We were on the area today conducting ground counts and water control. The arctic temps froze a majority of the hunt units, but we have managed to hold some large areas open with the big river pump and ground wells along with bird usage. This week but tomorrow especially I encourage our hunters to be prepared for a variety of hunt scenarios(Boat,Lay-out, dry feed pit/blind). As you can see in video/pic’s attached dry feeding birds were observed in a few of the units and refuge areas. Boat-in/walk-in/blind opportunities will exist with open water, however some of the hunt locations will be frozen so prepare for the worst. Roughly our duck count was 99k and 46k geese. Season has been great thus far considering the drought concerns early on in the season. We are now at approx 90-95% pool in all hunt units and refuge. Hope to see everyone this week!