32 32 32 32 32 32 32 32 32 32 32 32 32 32 32 32 32 32 32 32 32 32 32 32
GUIDE TO NEBRASKA'S WETLANDS
1970s, land leveling/shaping and local water table
declines resulted in extensive wetland loss in some
areas. Though quantifi able data are not available for
the Sandhills, estimates of wetland acres drained
range from 15% (McMurtrey et al. 1972) to 46% (U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service 1986). Sandhills wetlands
were given a Priority 1 ranking due to very extensive
past losses in the Nebraska Wetlands Priority Plan
(Gersib 1991).
Some Sandhills wetlands still are threatened by
drainage to increase hay production. This drainage
directly affects the lake or marsh where the project
occurs and can lead to cumulative wetland loss
downstream and upstream; as the channel becomes
entrenched, it lowers the water table and causes
lateral drainages to occur, affecting adjacent wetlands.
Wetlands also are threatened in some areas by
conversion from ranching to irrigated farming.
Some non-native invasive species are threatening
Sandhills wetlands, including the introduced variety
of European common reed, reed canary grass, redtop,
garrison creeping foxtail, narrow-leaf and hybrid
cattail, purple loosestrife, Eurasian water milfoil, and
common carp. These invasives can crowd out native
species and alter their habitat. Eastern red cedars are
native and do not generally grow in the wetlands.
However, they have spread rapidly and are now
invasive in the surrounding prairies; this alters the
prairie and the hydrologic cycle in the wetlands.
Concentrated, large-scale irrigation development can
result in long-term effects on wetland communities
by lowering the groundwater table. Groundwater
pollution, largely from agricultural chemicals and
Blanding's turtles are endangered in some surrounding states,
but the population appears to be thriving in the Sandhills due to
the extensive and high-quality wetlands there.
MARIAH LUNDGREN, PLATTE BASIN TIMELAPSE
Kayaking is a great way to explore wetlands, including this one in the Sandhills. GRANT REINER, PLATTE BASIN TIMELAPSE
