GACKLE (AP) - More than 25 years ago, John Henke drained 40 wetlands so he could farm the land near here. This summer, the retired farmer restored them.

It was the final step in a decision made by Henke and his wife, Janet, to re-create 260 acres of prairie and potholes on land he once farmed about 6½ miles south of Gackle. The rolling hills are home to thousands of wetlands, grassland and cattle ranching.

Henke bought his farm in 1963 and retired in 2004, renting out most of the land and selling off his farming equipment and the cattle.

"Then I called the Chase Lake Prairie Project," he said. "They showed us the different projects we could do. We were interested in habitat restoration and restoring the wetlands."

The restoration project for the Henkes actually began by putting 400 acres of land in the federal Conservation Reserve Program in 1989. In the last year, they added another 135 acres. The program pays farmers to idle environmentally sensitive land.

They also joined PLOTS, the North Dakota Game and Fish program that opens private land for hunting. Henke said he still plants some crops that are left standing for wildlife to eat.

The Henkes also have five acres of fruit-bearing trees to attract and feed wildlife. Henke, once a hunter himself, said he believes the land should be open to hunting because there is more than enough wildlife available. In fact, the huge number of Canada geese has become a serious problem for farmers.

"We need hunters, especially young hunters," Henke said.

The Henkes also connected with the North Dakota Department of Transportation, which asked them to plant 10 acres of trees and shrubs as a living snow fence along State Highway 56. They worked with the Soil Conservation Service on the trees and shrubs that now line the edge of their property.

"We've worked with a lot of different agencies and they're all good," said Janet Henke.

What started as a conservation effort has evolved into a legacy for future generations.

"We're hoping to give back something," Henke said. "A lot of this area shouldn't have been plowed, anyway."

This summer, Henke contracted with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which is responsible for the Chase Lake Project, to plug the drains on 40 wetlands that meander at the bottom of the hills on the 260 acres officially designated as a perpetual easement. That land, restored to prairie grasses, cannot be farmed or burned, nor can the wetlands be drained again.

When he eliminated the wetlands in 1979, Henke used a scraper to fill those areas with soil taken from the ditches he made to drain the water away. This summer, he used the same scraper to dig the layers of soil back out.

"He tried to take the fill from the bottom of the wetlands to plug the ditches," said Chris Flann, manager of the Chase Lake Prairie Project who has worked with the Henkes on the restoration project.

It wasn't as simple as digging out the dirt and filling up the ditches. The Natural Resources Conservation Service showed Henke the different soils he needed to get through to reach the original wetlands bottom. In one wetland, he removed 30 inches of dirt to get to the right kind of sediment. "The seed bank is always in the wetlands," Flann said. "Once you remove the sediment, the seeds will come back."

Luckily, the summer was very dry or Henke would have had a much tougher time digging out, he said. His work was completed before the rain came in August, and water has begun to re-create the ponds. Even with the water, the wetland areas look more like barren puddles, but the Henkes know next spring it will all look quite different.

"There will be a lot of things to look at next year, to see what grows," Henke said.

It's been a fascinating and busy few years for the Henkes. It's also been rewarding. On Wednesday, in Washington, D.C., they are to receive a national award as part of the 20th anniversary of CRP and the North American Waterfowl Plan. Flann, who will go with the Henkes, said it's a multi-agency celebration of the success of the two programs. It also includes such non-governmental organizations such as Ducks Unlimited.

"The Henkes will be recognized and honored for their work," Flann said. "These are folks who are worthy of recognition in several different areas. They're involved in just about everything we do."