Island 34 is undergoing multiple, simultaneous construction projects.  The most important construction project currently is a 12 room, hotel style lodge with a large common area, full commercial kitchen, bar area, and individual lockers for our invited guests.  Two of our rooms will meet ADA standards to house wounded veterans we invite to enjoy the experience of Island 34.  Along those lines we have had Custom Comforts Pits to build the first wheel chair accessible waterfowl pit.  It is a 49’ long beast of a pit.  We utilized a motorcycle hydraulic lift we can raise and lower as needed for comfortable shooting along with 24 inches of knee space to accommodate their wheelchairs.  We are building a 50-foot observation tower as well as a huge balcony on the lodge which will overlook a flooded field of food with several thousand ducks and geese.  Currently, we do not offer a commercial operation of any kind.  At least for the next several years, we are will be hosting a few hunts that are invitation only outside of veteran and youth hunts.  In the future, we plan to offer hunts to individuals and corporations; however, our current focus is on developing the overall habitat and attracting waterfowl.  After the 3-year imprinting period described in our conservation section, we will assess what direction we will take the operations of the island.  However, know this will be something you will want to experience as well as something you will never forget.  

Year One.

In the 2022/23 waterfowl season, we were not exactly sure what to expect.  The Mississippi River was at an all-time low and we were simultaneously running 13 well engines to get the fields flooded.  We were not able to use the relift pumps until December, but we knew we had all the right ingredients whenever the good Lord allowed everything to come together.  Sure enough, the Mississippi River came up allowing us to begin flooding the fields to the depths and size we had designed. Then, the ducks came, and boy did they ever.  By the end of January, we had anywhere from 100,000 to 200,000 waterfowl a day (depending on the time of day) utilizing the 500 acres of flooded food and timber on the island.  No doubt half of those were snow geese, but we did not care. It was truly something to see.  We are looking forward to the spectacle year two is going to bring.