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GUIDE TO NEBRASKA'S WETLANDS
contains a storage capacity of nearly one billion acre-
feet of water. This vast water resource occurs both
in the underground aquifer and above ground in the
form of wetland areas. Sandhills wetlands are mostly
freshwater and include saturated wet meadows,
shallow marshes, and the fringes of deeper lakes,
rivers and streams.
An analysis of the original National Wetland
Inventory digital data (based on aerial images from
the 1980s) indicated that 369,606 acres of wetland
were mapped in the Sandhills (LaGrange et al. 2005).
The inventory maps for the Sandhills are being
updated, and about half of the area has been updated
using aerial photos, mostly from 2010. Comparing
original inventory data to the updated content, about
three times as many wetland acres have been mapped
(Greg Brinkman, personal communication). The reason
for the substantial increase is likely due to higher
quality aerial imagery from wetter years and improved
mapping technology. The increase in the acres of
wetlands does not mean there was a change in the
extent of wetlands. The water levels in the Sandhills
can change a lot and are mostly related to changes in
groundwater levels in response to differing amounts
of precipitation. Rundquist (1983) used Landsat
satellite generated imagery and mapped larger
areas as wet meadow wetlands than did the original
National Wetland Inventory. He estimated there were
177,000 acres of open water and marsh and 1,130,000
acres of wet meadows in the Sandhills, and that may
be more in line with the updated inventory data. The
wetlands in the Sandhills range in size from less than
one acre to 2,300 acres; more than 80% of all wetlands
are estimated to be 10 acres or less in size (Wolfe
1984). Numerous wetlands are also associated with
the streams and rivers within the Sandhills and along
the Loup River and its tributaries after they fl ow out of
the Sandhills.
The Sandhills Alkaline Lakes Biologically Unique Landscape is in the western Sandhills. The wetlands here develop a white alkali crust
due to high rates of evaporation and little water outfl ow. ETHAN FREESE, PLATTE BASIN TIMELAPSE
