Wetland Management Roles

Basic actions:

All roles can perform the following actions:

• Clearing: removes flora and foliage
• Dike /embankment: creates a dike around a management unit.
• Clear dike / disembankment: removes a dike
• Delete Action: deletes any action other than hunting. Use this to undo.

Public & Private Reed Harvester:

The Reed Harvester is primarily concerned with the cutting of reedlands for profit, and the conservation and expansion of the reedlands. Their equipment and skilled labor have a high overhead cost, but it is profitable to harvest reeds.

This role can perform the Cut action in addition to the basic actions. This selects reeds for cutting to generate revenue.

They can only harvest in winter when the water level is below 20 cm. If the water level is below 20 cm in winter, but greater than 0 in the spring, that cell is much more productive for that year, and will greatly increase revenue.

Each year, the Reed Harvester must pay 6000 for the harvesting equipment, and 16,000 for the operators' salaries.

Father's advice: try to harvest at least 14 cells a year with high yield. Try to expand or at least conserve the reedlands. Skip cutting once every three years to avoid degrading the reedlands.

Stockbreeder:

The Stockbreeder is responsible for a herd of cattle, and uses the wetlands to graze. They can buy or sell cattle, but the more cattle they have, the more grazelands are needed. They are also concerned with expanding good grazing lands, such as meadows. Grazing a reedlands will also turn it into a meadow, but this is likely to make other players angry. However, only cells with a water level lower than 20 cm can be grazed upon.

This role can perform the Graze action in addition to the basic actions. This action selects which cells will be grazed on by their cattle.

Each cattle by default costs 600, and produced 400 value a year. Each cow needs to graze 1 grazing value per season, which is done by using the graze action on tiles. For each season that a cow does not have enough grazing value, the stockbreeder will have to pay for fodder for that season. Fodder by default costs 10 per season per cow. The grazing value of a cell is affected by pseudorandom weather events, which will be outlined in the end year results screen.

Every year, the stockbreeder must pay 4000 for farm upkeep, and 15,000 for farm labor to support the cattle.

Grandfather's advice: Stockbreeding can be very profitable. Remember that a good highland meadow is much better than an unreliable marshland.

Conservationist NGO:

The Conservationist is the defender of the wetland avian wildlife. Their greatest concern is the preservation and expansion of avian habitats, and the protection of their populations. This role requires a lot of role-play and conversation with other players, as they must be convinced to pursue policies that are beneficial to the wildlife. The Conservationist is also the only player that has a map of both estates.

The conservationist can perform the 'Create Nature Reserve' action in addition to the basic actions. This allows them to form a nature reserve in a Management Unit. The rules and effects of these, however, must be negotiated with the other players.

There are three ducks that the Conservationists are most concerned with. These include:

• Ducks, which prefer water levels above 0 & open land, such as reed + water, flooded meadows, and open water bodies.
• Purple Heron, which prefers reeds with a moderate amount of water, but less than 50 cm. They are sensitive to cutting, and will lose their habitat if the reed harvesters cut in their habitat (though they may come back the next year if cutting stops).
• Reed warblers, whose needs are not well known. Try to spot a pattern in their behavior, and optimize for that.

As the Conservationist, you will have a yearly cost of 500 for scientific monitoring. You will get a base subsidy of 500 a year from the government, but that subsidy can change if the host decides to change it. Particularly to fund certain projects.

Chief NGO's advice: Funding is short for us, but don't be afraid to negotiate with other players, and even ask for money. Stockbreeders and private hunters tend to be the wealthiest, but you should try to bring all interest groups together if you can.

Public Hunter:

The Public Hunters hunt ducks every year in the winter. They do this largely for sport, but also receive a subsidy from the government based on how many birds they manage to tag. They want to expand the duck population and their habitats, and maintain them at a profitable but healthy amount.

In addition to the basic actions, the public hunter can perform the Hunt action, which selects a tile for hunting. They also have the Clear Hunt action, which stops a tile from being hunted. Unlike most other actions, this one can be done on top of others.

Ducks prefer open lands like flooded meadows, reed+water, and open water bodies, with a water level of above 0 cm. The year's weather, which is not known beforehand, will also impact the difficulty of catching the ducks.

If the public hunter catches 100 ducks or less, their subsidy will be 500. If they catch more than 100 their subsidy will be 800. And if they catch 150 or more, they will receive 1200.

Uncle Joe's advice: Try to hunt at least 150 ducks! But after that, it is more productive to negotiate with other players about your hunting. Your cooperation now could mean their cooperation in the future. If you cooperate with stockbreeders, their cattle can graze reedlands into meadows, which are better for hunting.

Private Hunter:

The Private Hunters also hunt ducks every year in the winter. They do this for profit, and each duck is worth a tidy sum. They want to expand the duck population and their habitats, and extract as much value as possible from them.

They get paid yearly for each duck that they hunt, which lets them get much more profit than the public hunter would. In addition, the private estate is a bit more secluded, and more wildlife can be found here. However, unlike the Public Hunter, the Private Hunter has financial overhead.

Each year, the private hunter must pay 2500 for the upkeep of their hunting lodge, and the salary of the guard.

In addition to the basic actions, the public hunter can perform the Hunt action, which selects a tile for hunting. They also have the Clear Hunt action, which stops a tile from being hunted. Unlike most other actions, this one can be done on top of others.

Ducks prefer open lands like flooded meadows, reed+water, and open water bodies, with a water level of above 0 cm. The year's weather, which is not known beforehand, will also impact the difficulty of catching the ducks.

Master Hunter Tom's advice: If you clear as many reedlands as you can, you will have a lot more space to hunt on, and with a moderate water management regime you will reap a large profit. This might make the reed harvester upset, however.