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GUIDE TO NEBRASKA'S WETLANDS
Several unique wetland types are located within the
Sandhills. The Nebraska Natural Heritage Program
has identifi ed fens within the Sandhills (Steinauer
1995), a rare wetland type both in the Sandhills and
throughout the United States of America. Fens are
characterized by slightly acidic water and peat or muck
soils that form in areas fed with a nearly constant
supply of groundwater. Fens harbor several rare
plant species such as cotton grass, buckbean and
marsh marigold. The current range of these plants
is mostly in colder regions north of Nebraska, and
the populations in the Sandhills are likely relics from
a much cooler period that have survived in these
specialized habitats. In the western Sandhills there
are numerous highly alkaline wetlands (Steinauer
1994, Gosselin et al. 1994) that harbor unusual plants
and invertebrate life. These alkaline wetlands are very
attractive to shorebirds because of the invertebrate life
they produce.
Loss and Threats
Wetland loss in the Sandhills has occurred primarily
through draining by surface ditches, beginning as
early as 1900 (McMurtrey et al. 1972, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service 1960). With the introduction of center-
pivot irrigation systems to the Sandhills in the early
Wetlands and rangelands in the Sandhills are mostly privately owned and benefi t from the good stewardship of the
region's ranching families. DAKOTA ALTMAN, PLATTE BASIN TIMELAPSE
Trumpeter swans were once extirpated from Nebraska. They
have made a strong comeback thanks to reintroduction eff orts
and the abundant habitat provided by the Sandhills wetlands.
ERIC FOWLER, NEBRASKALAND
