This article originally appeared in Wisconsin Waterfowl Association’s March, 2021 eNewsletter.
By Foster Friedrich
Foster Friedrich’s vehicle loaded with houses and boats.
My Eagle Scout project started back in the March 2020, when I reached out to Adam Brant, the park ranger at Mosquito Hill Nature Center. We had discussed different Eagle projects that I could do for the preserve. Eventually I settled on wood duck houses due to my love of the sport of waterfowl hunting and to have my opportunity to help with the conservation of the waterfowl in our area.
Between March 2020 and August 12, 2020, while I was working on my Eagle Scout project proposal, I had reached out to Derrick De Deker, who is a member of Wisconsin Waterfowl Association. I talked with him about possibly getting a donation from the association with my project.
The wood duck boxes
After I had reached out to Derrick, he got back to me almost immediately and said that he would talk around with some members on WWA’s Appleton/Valley Chapter. Eventually I got my approval on August 12, 2020 and I reached out to Derrick again, and he supplied me with contact information for Valley Chapter’s Mr. Miller and Mr. O’Brien. I got a hold of them and end up collecting the 15 houses from Mr. O’Brien on October 1, 2020.
The following Saturday, October 3rd my dad, Greg Friedrich, my brother Ashton Friedrich, and I proceeded to put all 25 houses together, 15 from the Wisconsin Waterfowl Association and 10 that my father had donated.
Jayce Knispel-Shabo and Adam Brant hanging the second house of the day.
After my family and I had finished this, I got a small group of my buddies, my father, and myself together on the 18th of October and we went up to a portion on Mosquito Hill where they needed a fence taken down. We had grabbed as many posts as were needed to be able to hang the 25 houses, as well as removing that section of fence. Around a week and a half later, on October 29th, my good buddy and fellow outdoorsman, Jayce Knispel-Shabo, helped me hang the first round of the wood duck houses by the Frog Pond, the marsh and the northwest side of the North Oxbow pond. Later that week my brother Ashton and I went out on November 5th to install the last 10 around the inner island of the North Oxbow pond.
Ashton Friedrich placing the first house on the Oxbow Island.
After this crazy amount of events my service project requirement of my Eagle Scout rank would be finished. Thank you to donations from the Wisconsin Waterfowl Association and my father.
Map of all the wood duck houses at Mosquito Hill Nature Center
The view a momma wood duck would see from inside the house.