OutdoorNebraska

56 56 56 56 56 56 56 56 56 56 56 56 56 56 56 56 56 56 56 56 56 56 56 56 GUIDE TO NEBRASKA'S WETLANDS River that year generated 153,470 angler visits, 63,400 hunter visits, and 468,920 wildlife observation visits in Nebraska. The economic impacts realized from recreational use of the Missouri River in Nebraska in 2004 was more than $28 million (Sheriff et al. 2011). Several state parks and recreation areas along the Missouri River, including Indian Cave State Park, Lewis and Clark State Recreation Area, Ponca State Park, and Niobrara State Park, each receive well over 150,000 visitors per year. Conservation Success Stories The Missouri River Recovery Program is led by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and is addressing past habitat losses. Eighteen projects are underway or have been completed along Nebraska's portion of the river through this program. Some of the partners who helped with these projects included the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, Winnebago Tribe, Omaha Tribe, Papio-Missouri River NRD, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Fontenelle Forest, and The Nature Conservancy. The projects involved acquiring fl ood prone lands from willing sellers and then restoring side channels, backwaters, and their associated fl oodplain wetlands. In addition, many landowners voluntarily enrolled portions of their fl ood prone properties into the NRCS's Wetlands Reserve Easements program. These two programs have made great strides in improving fi sh and wildlife habitats along the river while also providing some much- improved recreational opportunities. Websites: nrcs. usda.gov, search "wetland reserve easements;" nwo. usace.army.mil/mrrp/maps-and-sites. Contacts A variety of programs are in place to help restore wetlands and improve fl ows and habitat to the Missouri River. Contact the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission offi ce in Lincoln, (402) 471-5561, or Norfolk, (402) 370-3374. Missouri National Recreational River — The National Park Service manages the National Recreation River, which is a component of the Wild and Scenic River System. The designated areas include the Missouri River from the Fort Randall Dam in South Dakota to just downstream from Niobrara, Nebraska, and from Gavins Point Dam near Yankton, South Dakota, to Ponca State Park near Ponca, Nebraska, the lower 20 miles of the Niobrara River and lower 8 miles of Verdigre Creek. Contact: National Park Service, 508 E. 2nd St., Yankton, SD 57078, (605) 665-0209. Select Public Use Areas • Randall W. Shilling WMA, northeast edge of Plattsmouth, Cass County • William Gilmour Memorial WMA, 1 mile south and 1 mile east of Plattsmouth, Cass County • Audubon Bend, 2 miles north of Wynot, Cedar County • Ponca State Park and Elk Point Bend WMA, 2 miles north of Ponca, Dixon County • Niobrara State Park, Niobrara Confl uence WMA and Bazile Creek WMA, adjacent to Niobrara, Knox County • Langdon Bend, 1 mile east of Nemaha, Nemaha County • Peru Bottoms WMA, 1 miles north of Peru, Nemaha County • Hamburg Bend, 3 miles south and 5 miles east of Nebraska City, Otoe County • Indian Cave State Park, 13 miles north of Falls City, Richardson County • Fontenelle Forest, Bellevue, Sarpy County; the area is owned by a private organization, but the public can access it for a fee. • Boyer Chute National Wildlife Refuge, 3 miles east of Fort Calhoun, Washington County • DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge, 3 miles east of Blair, Washington County A young wood duck feeds in a wetland covered with duckweed. Wooded wetlands in eastern Nebraska provide important places for these birds to nest and to feed. CHRIS MASADA

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