Eagle Scout candidate Louis Zielinski, a member of Boy Scouts of America Troop 115, is close to finishing up his Eagle Scout project which involved building five Wood Duck nesting boxes and placing them on the Teller Wildlife Refuge located north of Corvallis along the Bitterroot River.
Zielinski said he has always had the notion that he’d like to become a wildlife biologist or a veterinarian. He attended Merit Badge University at Caroll College in Helena and has earned 21 merit badges, more than enough to qualify for Eagle. One of the most interesting badges that he earned was in animal science where he learned specifically about ruminants, horses and waterfowl. When Troop leader Billy Andrews suggested that he consider building some Wood Duck nesting boxes to be used at the Teller Wildlife Refuge as part of his Eagle Scout project, Zielinski jumped on the idea like a chicken on scratch.
He rounded up help from his fellow Troop members, his family, and volunteers at the refuge. He figured out the cost of all the materials needed and went about raising the required funds, about $278. Mark Dickerson generously donated the use of his wood shop for the project. He and other Teller volunteers helped the boys assemble the nesting boxes and then helped place them on the refuge property last Saturday, March 5.
Zielinski said he hopes his project will help increase the population of Wood Ducks on the Teller Refuge. The five new cedar nest boxes were used to replace certain previously installed boxes that were in need of replacement. The refuge currently has 17 wood duck nesting boxes located on the property that have to be cleaned out annually. Some always have to be repaired or replaced. Last year two new boxes were installed around Thomas Pond and two in the Mallard Pond slough areas.