OutdoorNebraska

42 2023 Annual Report • Conservation Working to recover the Salt Creek tiger beetle Annual surveys and habitat management continue for the endemic and critically endangered Salt Creek tiger beetle, and 2023 marks the second year Nebraska's Natural Heritage Program raised beetles itself for release into the wild. For the past 12 years, Nebraska Game and Parks has partnered with several zoos and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to raise up to 800 captive-bred beetles for release at saline wetlands near Lincoln. Now Game and Parks has its own incubator to help bolster wild populations. In 2023, Game and Parks grew 43 lab-reared tiger beetles, and it currently is raising 50 Salt Creek tiger beetles for release in April 2024. The work to recover the Salt Creek tiger beetle is a great example of how partnerships can benefit conservation. Project partners include the Saline Wetlands Conservation Partnership, which is comprised of Game and Parks, the City of Lincoln, the Lower Platte South Natural Resources District and Pheasants Forever; UNL; Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo; Lincoln Children's Zoo; Topeka Zoo; and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Restored wetlands provide many benefits In addition to providing important habitat to fish and wildlife and places to recreate, wetlands also help improve water quality, recharge groundwater and reduce damages from flooding. Historically, these benefits were not well recognized, and in many places, wetlands were drained or altered. This makes the restoration of wetlands a priority, and Game and Parks, along with many partners, has been working to accomplish this on public and private lands. During the past 20 years, more than 50 wetland restoration projects have been completed on public lands, and more than 500 on private lands. Two projects completed in 2023 are: • The Bear Creek project in northwest Cherry County was a partnership among a Sandhills rancher, the Sandhills Task Force, Ducks Unlimited, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Game and Parks. Long ago, sections of the creek had been straightened, causing the stream to cut deeper and resulting in lower water levels in the stream and adjacent meadows. A contractor restored more than 2 miles of historic stream channels, and 285 acres of wet meadow wetland were restored by raising the water levels in the valley closer to the surface. Whooping cranes, sandhill cranes, trumpeter swans, long-billed curlews, northern pintail, American burying beetles, numerous migratory bird species, and other native wildlife benefit from these types of projects. • North Lake Basin Wildlife Management Area is a Rainwater Basin wetland in Seward County. Additional wetland restoration was completed here in 2023, including removal of additional sediment that had eroded into the wetland from surrounding farmland over the years. This will improve wetland function and make Game and Parks' pumping more effective. A well upgrade also is planned. Project partners included the Rainwater Basin Joint Venture, Ducks Unlimited, TC Energy and Game and Parks. This marked the 30th Rainwater Basin WMA wetland restoration project to be completed. Salt Creek tiger beetle on Little Salt Creek in Lancaster County.

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