Volume 91, Issue 3, 2013
April 2013
- Identifier:
- nela.2013_091_03
- Title:
- Volume 91, Issue 3, 2013
- Issue Name:
- April 2013
- Date Issued:
- 2013-04-01
- year:
- 2013
- month:
- April
- Season:
- Spring
- PDF filename:
- NL_91.03_2013_Apr_Spreads_Entire.pdf
- Publisher:
- Nebraska Game and Parks Commission
- Format:
- Periodical
- volume:
- 091
- issue:
- 03
- number:
- 091.03
- Decade:
- 2010s
- Type:
- Rights Holder:
- Copyright Nebraskaland Magazine/Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, all rights reserved.
- Extracted Text:
-
In the Nebraska “Badlands,” interesting landforms make a visit to Toadstool Geological Park a
unique experience. Photo by Rick Houchin.
INSIDE
Turkeys - a Photofactual Essay ● Fires at Chadron
Medicinal Plants ● Fishing Access Program ● Grain Elevators
Making a Photo Blind ● Roger Welsch’s Plains Wildfires
NEBRASKAland
April 2013
F E AT U R E S
12 Turkeys – A Photo-factual Essay
Whether archery hunting today or awaiting the shotgun
opener, here are a few facts and photos to get the blood
boiling even more for hunting’s most popular game bird.
TEXT AND PHOTOS BY JEFF KURRUS
Plants of the Prairie
16 Healing
Native Americans used native plants as medicine for
years – now modern science is as well. BY GERRY STEINAUER
22 Building a Low-cost, Portable Photo Blind
Blinds are a great way to get up close photos of wildlife.
Here are some tips for building one. TEXT AND PHOTOS BY
MICHAEL FORSBERG
– Corn Country Cathedrals
26 Elevators
”Prairie Skyscrapers” or “Sentinels of the Prairie” – grain
elevators are a big part on Nebraska agricultural history.
TEXT AND PHOTOS BY JON FARRAR
32 Thin to Win
26
●
By managing its forest properly, Chadron State Park
played a key role in stopping last year’s wildfire.
BY JUSTIN HAAG
40 Banking on Angler Access
Nebraska’s Angler Access program makes it easier for
bank anglers to catch fish. BY ERIC FOWLER
D E PA RT M E N T S
Comment ................................................................... 4
Mixed Bag................................................................. 6
Nature Notes ............................................................44
Junior Journal...........................................................45
Classifieds ................................................................46
Portraits from the Past .............................................48
Page 49 ....................................................................49
The Last Stop ...........................................................50
40
●
12
●
Cover: A sharp-tailed grouse puffs up on a cold spring morning at the
Bessey Ranger District of the Nebraska National Forest. Photo by Rick
Rasmussen. Opposite: A 1928 Model D John Deere tractor sits in front
of a 100-year-old barn in Lancaster County. Photo by Brad Moser.
NEBRASKAland (VOL. 91 / NO. 3, ISSN 0028-1964) is published monthly, except for the
combined Jan./Feb. and Aug./Sept. issues, by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission,
2200 N. 33rd St., Lincoln, NE. Periodicals postage paid at Lincoln, Nebraska, and additional
mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to NEBRASKAland, P.O. Box 30370,
Lincoln, NE 68503-0370.
2 NEBRASKALAND • APRIL 2013
32
●
APRIL 2013 • NEBRASKALAND 3
Swans, Ducks and Geese - Oh My!
Swans, ducks, geese and bald eagles
all in one picture at Calamus lake
– see the bald eagles in tall tree in
background, note the “diamonds” on
the lake above the birds. Such a variety
of wildlife. All I needed was some
deer and wild turkey in the background
– I saw them also, but could not get
everything on one picture. Nebraska
wildlife is amazing.
Greg Jensen
Ord, Nebraska
Kudos for Hedge Trees
Each fall I pick hedge balls from the
Osage-orange trees on my southeast
Nebraska farm. Placed in our garage,
the hedge balls keep out the crickets – I
promise!
My farm still has a few fencerows
of hedge posts and barbed wire. I
remember helping my dad string
barbed wire onto the hard, tough hedge
posts. Dad had a pile of hedge posts
that would be used for fences and
gates.
I recall an article printed several
years ago in NEBRASKAland about
the Osage-orange trees near Sterling.
A good hedgerow is: horse high, bull
strong and hog tight.
If memory serves me right, my first
gift subscription for NEBRASKAland
to my husband Steve, puchased many
years ago, cost $5 per year. After these
many years, needless to say that we
still enjoy reading your magazine.
Dr. Chauncey Wilkins’ patients
always know when he’s at the
hospital in Blair. The family physician
was tagged Doctor Bullseye by fellow
shooters at the Orion Archery club, but his broad shooting interests
also include pistols, rifles and shotguns, which, along with a love for
the land and the outdoors, were spawned growing up on a farm in
rural Washington County.
If you have a unique outdoor message plate you would like to share
or know someone who does, e-mail a photo (high-resolution, JPEG
format only, please) of it to Eric.Fowler@Nebraska.gov, along with your
name, hometown and a brief description of the interests expressed on
your license plate.
4 NEBRASKALAND • APRIL 2013
NEBRASKAland photos continue to be
superior.
Phyl Bates
Le Mars, Iowa
The magazine still looks great, keep up
the good work!
Jim Van Dyke
via e-mail
Questions for God
Dear Mr. Kurrus,
I just got my March issue of
NEBRASKAland today and read your
“Questions for God” article first. It
was very well written. and I pray
for Cayden’s family. Thank you for
sharing that story.
Like you, I hope one day to have
some answers to those questions.
Thanks again for such a well-written,
thoughtful perspective about young
(too young) Cayden. God bless him
(and you).
Regards,
Randy Rothchild
Friendswood, TX
Did you catch the creature
scurrying across the page of last
month’s magazine? It was a running
crab spider (Family Philodromus).
These spiders can be found all across
North America, including Nebraska.
Adult body sizes range from less than
a quarter-inch to about a half-inch in
length, not including legs. A running
crab spider can be differentiated
from other crab spiders (Family
Thomisidae) by their second pair of
legs, which are always longer than
the other three pairs. Running crab
spiders are beneficial because they
feed on insects. They don’t spin webs
to catch prey, but ambush them. Their
coloration allows them to blend into
their surrounds, such as a leaf, where
they wait, motionless, until prey comes
within reach. They grab the insect
with their legs and deliver a quick
bite, injecting a deadly combination of
venom and digestive fluids that almost
immediately paralyzes the prey.
The spider then sucks out
the now liquefied internal
tissue of the insect. While the
venom acts quickly on small
insects, it is not known to
be harmful to humans.
NEBRASKAland Visitor Letters
We want to thank all 51 readers
that sent e-mails and letters for last
issue’s visitor, a running crab spider
that was on page 44 (see page 11
for the winner, rules and this issue’s
hint). Here are some of the wonderful
responses we received:
I found a spider (at least I think it’s a
spider) on page 44 on the osage orange
leaf. Wasn’t sure if this was the one
we were supposed to be finding and I
couldn’t find a name for it. I thought
it was funny that a “pest” would be
present on the leaf right beside the
orange, when the question of the article
was “Does it really repel pests?” Lol.
I did have fun looking, even if this
wasn’t the right one. I also love the
magazine – keep up the good work!
Leta Olson,
Craig, Nebraska
Just got our second issue of
NEBRASKAland Magazine and after
reading the comment page about
visitors, the wife and I couldn’t put
it down until we spotted the spider
on page 44. Used to subscribe years
ago, will once again enjoy getting all
the great info on where to take the
grandkids fishing and hunting. I have
a grandson who’s nickname is “Bass”
– gonna take him to Memphis Lake to
see if he can catch one, (thanks for tip).
Special thanks to Julie Van Meter, State
Entomologist, Nebraska Department of
Agriculture. Visitor image by Chris Helzer.
www.bugguide.net is a good site for identification
Send your comments to:
Doug Carroll, Editor
NEBRASKAland Magazine
P.O. Box 30370
Lincoln, NE 68503
or e-mail Doug.Carroll@Nebraska.gov
Please include your postal address and
telephone number.
Letters may be condensed and edited
for clarity. Photographs are welcome
and will be returned.
Any program that receives federal funding from the National Park
Service, or the United States Fish and Wildlife Service prohibits unlawful
discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, age, gender, marital
status, national origin, age, disability or political affiliation. Any person
who believes he or she has been discriminated against in any program,
activity, facility, or service, should contact the Nebraska Game and
Parks Commission, Lincoln, NE 402-471-0641, the Equal Opportunity
Commission, Lincoln, NE 402-471-2024, TTY/TDD 402-471-4693;
United States Fish Wildlife Service, Civil Rights Coordinator, 4401
N. Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203; Director, Equal Opportunity
Program, U.S. Department of Interior, National Park Service, 1849 C
Street NW, Mail Code 0008, Washington, D.C. 20240-0001.
COMMISSIONERS
CONSERVATION OFFICERS
Director Jim Douglas
NORTHWEST
Officer
City
Jim Zimmerman (S) Gering
Commissioners
Chairman - Ron Stave, Waterloo
Vice Chairman - Norris Marshall, Kearney
2nd Vice Chairman - Jerrod Burke, Curtis
Dr. Mark Pinkerton, Wilber
Dr. Kent Forney, Lincoln
Lynn Berggren, Broken Bow
Rex Fisher, Omaha
Mark Spurgin, Paxton
Mick Jensen, Blair
MAGAZINE STAFF
Editor Doug Carroll
Associate Editor Jeff Kurrus
Art Director Tim Reigert
Regional Editors Eric Fowler, Julie Geiser,
Justin Haag, Jenny Nguyen
Contributing Editor Michael Forsberg
Regular Contributors Bill Hager, Chris Helzer,
Lisa Knopp
Photo Librarian Sarah Johnson
Circulation Donna Robinson
For address changes and questions about
your subscription, e-mail Donna.Robinson@
Nebraska.gov or call (800) 632-5263
Advertising
For advertising information contact
Donna Robinson, Circulation
Phone: (402) 471-5490
E-mail: ngpc.ads@nebraska.gov
NEBRASKAland Magazine Copyright 2013, all rights reserved.
NEBRASKAland is available in audio from the Nebraska Library
Commission Talking Book and Braille Service, Suite 120, 1200 N St.,
Lincoln, NE 68508. (800) 742-7691. NEBRASKAland Magazine and
the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission reserve the right to reject any
advertising not in keeping with the agency mission.
Rates: $18 for one year; $33 for two years; $44 for three years. Nebraska
recipients must add appropriate sales tax. To subscribe call
1-800-NEBLAND (632-5263), or go online to: NebraskalandMagazine.
com.
COMMISSION
C
COM
OM
OMM
MIS
ISSIO
SIION O
SI
OFFICES
F CES
FFI
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Headquarters/Southeast District Office
2200 N. 33rd Street Lincoln, NE 68503
Phone (402) 471-0641
Northeast District Office
2201 N. 13th St. Norfolk, NE 68701
Phone (402) 370-3374
Southwest District Office
301 E. State Farm Rd. North Platte, NE 69101
Phone (308) 535-8025
Northwest District Office
East Hwy. 2, Box 725 Alliance, NE 69301
Phone (308) 763-2940
Bassett Office
524 Panzer St., Box 508 Bassett, NE 68714
Phone (402) 684-2921
Kearney Office
1617 First Ave. Kearney, NE 68847
Phone (308) 865-5310
Omaha Office
1212 Bob Gibson Blvd. Omaha, NE 68108
Phone (402) 595-2144
Greg Hesse
Scott Brandt
Heath Packett
Dan Kling
Frank Miller
Phone (308)
(office) 763-2940
(cell) 641-6138
Alliance
760-3647
Gering
631-0663
Gordon
360-0682
Harrison
430-0572
Valentine (402) 389-0444
SOUTHWEST
Officer
City
Phone (308)
Roger Thompson (S) N. Platte (office) 535-8025
(cell) 530-3097
Ray Dierking
Brkn. Bow
870-0322
George Sund
Cambridge
655-0028
Michael Thome
Cozad
529-8146
Terry Brentzel
Doniphan (402) 469-5795
Matt Andrews
Elwood
746-2418
Dirk Greene
Imperial
882-0015
Dale Johnson
Kearney
440-3847
Brian Piernicky
McCook
340-6627
Dudley Sorensen
N. Platte
530-0016
Brandon O’Neal
N. Platte
778-7486
Nicholas Fix
Ogallala
289-0427
Dennis Thompson
Ogallala
289-0755
Rich Routh
Rep. City
920-0367
NORTHEAST
Officer
City
Tom Zimmer (Sup.) Norfolk
Dale Davis
Steve Oberg
Daniel Roberts
Randy Pomplun
Jeff Jones
Jon Reeves
Tim Williams
Pat George
Doug Pollard
Alex Frohberg
Cory Krause
Phone (402)
(office) 370-3374
(cell) 649-8053
Bassett
760-0712
Columbus
910-3366
Fremont
719-1108
Fullerton (308) 550-0489
Hartington
762-5022
Kennard
889-8508
Neligh
929-0051
O’Neill
340-0787
Ord
(308) 778-7101
Ponca
241-7615
West Point
380-6410
SOUTHEAST
Officer
Levi Krause (Sup.)
Sean McKeehan
William Krause
Mike Luben
Dan Zuehlke
Darin Gress
Douglas Kramer
Dina Barta
Stacey Lewton
Levi Krause
Robert Finke
Russell Mort
Dan Evasco
Rich Berggren
City
Louisville
Ashland
Auburn
Colon
Cortland
Hebron
Lincoln
Lincoln
Lincoln
Louisville
Milford
Nebr. City
Papillion
Waterloo
Phone (402)
949-0593
521-0159
274-8063
443-6392
806-9084
768-8665
890-6465
890-6463
890-7140
949-0593
947-1363
209-1506
616-5961
619-1355
ADMINISTRATION
Officer
Craig Stover (Adm.)
Duane Arp (Ass.)
Jeff Clauson (Ass.)
City
Lincoln
Lincoln
Lincoln
Phone (402)
471-5531
471-5532
471-0480
Nebraska Wildlife Crimestoppers 1-800-742-7627
Ak-Sar-Ben Aquarium
21502 W. Highway 31 Gretna, NE 68028
Phone (402) 332-3901
APRIL 2013 • NEBRASKALAND 5
The Vine That Ate the South … and Midwest?
Karie Decker
Mile-a-minute vine, foot-a-night vine, the vine that ate the South – all
pseudonyms for kudzu. But is it now eating the Midwest?
Kudzu was originally promoted as a forage crop and ornamental plant (great at
erosion control) when it was introduced to the United States at the Philadelphia
Centennial Exposition in 1876. But in 1953, kudzu was removed from the
U.S. Department of Agriculture’s list of permissible cover plants because of its
recognition as a pest species. By that time, however, the damage was done. Over
the past 60 years it has made its way across much of the Midwest and covers
an estimated two million acres of forest land in the southern United States. In
2000 Kudzu found a ride and set roots on the West coast (Oregon, and then
Washington), and is now even found in southeastern Nebraska, south of Nebraska
City. Nebraska’s cold winters seem to knock back its growth, but the plant’s
woody stems survive and re-sprout each spring.
Kudzu, a climbing, semi-woody, perennial vine, has the potential to reach up to
100 feet in length. It will grow over anything in its path (other plants, buildings,
road signs) and eventually kill the plants it covers by blocking out sunlight. Kudzu
will also uproot trees and shrubs through the masses of vegetation produced, and
has been reported to grow roughly one foot per day once established.
Controlling kudzu is no easy task, but frequent mowing or grazing can
suppress this tenacious weed, and the repeated use of chemical herbicides can kill
it. Biological control agents are being evaluated, and the recent introduction of
Asian soybean rust is thought to be very devastating to kudzu.
Prevention is worth a pound of cure, so learn how to identify kudzu. When
recreating in forests, be sure to remove vegetation from your clothes/boots. If you
think you’ve found some kudza, report it to your county weed superintendent or to
the Nebraska Invasive Species Project.
From the poem, “Kudzu,”
by James Dickey
In Georgia, the legend says
That you must close your windows
At night to keep it out of the house.
The glass is tinged with green, even so...
■
Here is a list of upcoming outdoor
events across Nebraska.
For more information about these and
other events, visit the calendar page
at www.Outdoor Nebraska.org.
April 1
Paddlefish Archery Application
The application period for archery
paddlefish permits runs April 1-14.
For more information, pick up a free
2013-2014 Nebraska Fishing Guide.
Contact Bob Zegar
402-471-5455
bob.zegar@nebraska.gov
April 6
Wanahoo Eagle Extravaganza
There will be a special eagle-viewing
event featuring the lake’s pair of
nesting bald eagles from 8 a.m. to
11 a.m. at Lake Wanahoo near
Wahoo on Saturday, April 6.
Spotting scopes will be set up and
there will be activities for kids as
well.
April 6-7
Platte River Art Show
Featuring artists from across the
Midwest, this annual art show will
run Saturday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
and 9 a.m to 4 p.m. on Sunday.
April 20
Indian Cave’s 2nd Annual
Outdoor Adventure
PHOTO BY JON VAN BUREN
Come out for an event-filled day
for the whole family at Indian Cave
State Park. Featuring a mushroom
hunting contest, fish fry, archery
shooting, birdwatching and much
more. New this year – the Morel Mile
and 5K run. The pre-registration
fee $15 before April 15, $20 day of
race (shirts only guaranteed for
pre-registration and while supplies
last). Contact the park office for
more details. A park entry permit is
required.
Contact: Indian Cave State Park
402-883-2575
ngpc.indian.cave@nebraska.gov
6 NEBRASKALAND • APRIL 2013
Choose the Right Tent
Julie Geiser
Summer is coming and thoughts start
turning to camping. Here are a couple
of things to think about if you’re
plannng to buy a tent this year: Keep
in mind the number of people who will
be using the tent, what type of terrain
you will be in most of the time, and
make sure that it is strong, durable and
able to resist any sudden changes in the
weather.
For a family of four, get a tent that
sleeps six – you’ll appreciate the extra
room. I’d also recommend a cheap tarp
for around $15 to place under your
tent. This will help protect your tent
floor against tears and prevent water
from seeping into the tent in case of
rain.
A 10-by-10 foot tent is ideal for two
adults. You will have enough space for
cots or a double air mattress, plus space
to stand up when changing clothes.
For older children who would prefer
by Carol Henderson
Beatrice
First stop: The 1904 Carnegie Library building, restored in
2011 with the original marble floors and reception desk, is set in a
comfortable park that is perfect for a walkabout or for rambunctious
kids who need to stretch their legs. Jim Spangler, director of tourism
for Gage County, greeted me with a smile and a fistful of information to
help me plan my day.
Over at the Gage County Historical Society and Museum, Lisa
Arterburn happily shared a fountain of information about the county,
particularly the stone barn built by Elijah Filley in 1873. I grabbed
to my next destination.
several of the fascinating “read more about it” information sheets as I headed
www.visitbeatrice.com
Let’s do lunch…or dinner! The Black Crow on Court Street is not your
typical steak-and-baked potato place but you could order them. Most likely
you’ll prefer to try a bit of herbed garlic butter and fresh, chopped green
onions on your sirloin.
However, I ordered one of the Crow’s homemade pizzas for lunch. It
,
was a perfect pie with thin, buttery crust, the Crow’s homemade sausage
fresh tomatoes and dotted with aromatic fennel. I had plenty left to load
into a take-home carton – yum! www.blackcrowrestaurant.com
Decision time: East or west? Let’s head west.
Selma and son Troy Stevens’ real-deal country cottage is perfect
if your visit includes an overnight stay. Their uber-clean RV park
and bed and breakfast cottage are just 10 minutes from downtown
Beatrice. Set on 80 acres of native timber, there is plenty of bird and
wildlife viewing, including fox, turkey, deer and black squirrels. If the
fresh-from-the-oven pecan rolls Selma served are any indication
of the warmth you can expect when you visit, you won’t be
disappointed. “Bring your telescope,” Troy also advised, “the stars
are amazing out here.”www.oakavenacres.com
Send Us Your Trail Cam Photos!
ent
Don’t miss: Head back to Highway 4 to visit the Homestead National Monum
of legislation. The
piece
ial
which celebrates the Homestead Act of 1862, America’s most influent
and magnificent views of the
displays
ive
headquarters building features interact
it. According to Chief Ranger
seen
have
tallgrass prairie as early pioneers might
or a day or more if you delve
hour
an
be
Merridith Baugham, “a typical visit can
www.nps.gov/home
ka.”
Nebras
in
into the databases about homesteading
, with
Just down the road: Seven miles east of Beatrice is Cedar Creek Pottery
d
arrange
lly
hundreds of exquisite and practical salt-glazed pottery pieces beautifu
wild
and
pods
on the rustic shelves of an 1895 church. The dried flowers, seed
s.
grass wreathes that decorate the space are also artist Ervin Dixon’s creation
spot-on
a
is
I own a couple of his serving pieces and they are treasures. This
shopping experience. http://heritagehighway136.com
From Austin Kober – taken near Palmer, Nebraska: “We just
happened to get this on one of our cameras. We have tons of
other great pictures that are very cool.”
PHOTOS BY CAROL HENDERSON
The fields, farms, country churches
and out-of-the-way treasures that
dot the landscape in southeastern
Nebraska have much to offer the
casual traveler. I’ll no doubt be back
soon. ■
to have their own, a
5-by-7 foot tent is
an adequate size. For
younger children, a
separate tent is great for
toys and as a play area.
Be cautious about
tents larger than 10-by10, as it can sometimes
be difficult to find a
smooth and level spot
large enough to set the
tent on. Big tents can
also be on the heavy side
when it comes to loading
and unloading.
The peak inside height of the tent
is very important for comfort – you’ll
want one tall enough to stand in. A 6or 7-foot peak height is necessary for
adults, and a 4-foot peak is about right
for children.
A good tip to remember before you
go camping is to know everything
about your new tent. You don’t want to
get to your camping site and not have
Please submit your trail camera photos by e-mail to:
nebtrailcam@gmail.com. Also include any information that
will help explain your photo.
a clue about how to
put up your tent. An easy remedy to
this is to practice setting the tent up at
home. Setting it up and taking it down
a couple times will get you acquainted
with the tent. This way you will be able
to put it up and take it down in almost
any situation.
Finally – be sure to pack a hammer,
extra stakes and rope for those “just in
case” moments. ■
Picking up for Ponca
The flood of 2011 brought large
amounts of trash to the banks and
sandbars of the Missouri River at
Ponca State Park, and last year’s
drought exposed much of this debris in
and along the river corridor.
As a result, Ponca State Park and the
Missouri National Recreational River,
are seeking volunteers for the first
annual Mighty Mo Annual Cleanup on
Saturday, April 20th. Volunteers will
meet at the park’s boat ramp at 8 a.m.
for registration, coffee and doughnuts.
Volunteers will receive official T-shirts
on a first-come, first-served basis.
Boats from the Nebraska Game
and Parks Commission, the National
Park Service and partner agencies
will tranport volunteers to and from
cleanup sites along the river. The
cleanup will end at 11:30 a.m., and
a lunch of hot dogs, chips and cold
drinks will be served at noon.
Volunteers should wear appropriate
clothing for the weather and closed-toe
shoes. Sunscreen and insect repellent
are recommended; bring gloves or
gloves will be provided. Participants
under age 18 must be accompanied by
a parent or guardian. ■
APRIL 2013 • NEBRASKALAND 9
Lewis and Clark Stops in Nebraska
Pre-peppered fish?
The Litter Experiment
By Olivia Johnson
Just over two centuries ago, Meriwether
Lewis and William Clark departed from
Camp Wood near St. Louis with the rest of
the Corps of Discovery and started up the
Missouri River on an expedition for President
Thomas Jefferson. Among the group’s
goals were to find a passage to the Pacific
Northwest through the Louisiana Purchase,
gain contact with Indian tribes, and make
scientific observations of the unknown region.
A route through Nebraska was vital to the
journey, and those interested in traveling
Lewis and Clark’s original path can do so
with ease today. Although less rugged than
the uncharted route the Corps of Discovery
endured, modern travelers can still get a feel
for what the explorers experienced on their journey. Below are seven Lewis and
Clark visitor destinations in Nebraska recognized by the National Park Service.
Indian Cave State Park, Shubert. Visitors have boundless areas of nature to
get lost in. A Lewis and Clark interpretive lookout over the Missouri, ancient
petroglyphs, and the old St. Deroin Schoolhouse built in 1908 are just a few of the
attractions that make a visit to Indian Cave State Park unforgettable.
Lewis and Clark Interpretive Trail and Visitors Center, Nebraska City. This
unique stop won’t leave visitors disappointed; it’s the only center in the nation
that showcases the scientific observations of the explorers. Beyond the flora and
fauna theme, guests can also enjoy a scenic overlook of the Missouri, as well as a
55-foot replica of the keelboat used on the journey.
Lewis and Clark Landing/Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail
Headquarters and Visitor Center, Omaha. Omaha boasts not only a park
dedicated to the explorers but also the headquarters that serves as a source for
all interested in traveling the Lewis and Clark route. In the Landing visitors can
enjoy Lewis and Clark interpretive exhibits, the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge
and plenty of green, open space.
Fort Atkinson State Historical Park, Fort Calhoun. The original fort was
constructed on the recommendation of Lewis and Clark after they passed through
the area. Today a reconstructed version stands, offering a visitor center and a
statue dedicated to Lewis and Clark’s 1804 meeting with the Oto and Missouria
Indians.
Ponca State Park, Ponca. Named after Ponca Chief Standing Bear, this natural
haven offers limitless recreation opportunities, including hiking and biking trails,
outdoor educational programs, camping and a wide variety of wildlife to observe.
Missouri National Recreation River. Two free-flowing stretches of the
Missouri located from Fort Randall Dam near Pickstown, South Dakota to
Niobrara, Nebraska; and Gavins Point Dam near Yankton, South Dakota, to
Ponca, Nebraska. Visitors can observe an area that still looks quite similar to the
untamed wilderness the Corp saw on its journey. Guests can also check out a
Lewis and Clark Visitor center, located at Gavins Point Dam, which marks the
site where the explorers met with the Yankton Sioux.
Niobrara State Park, Niobrara. Located at the junction of the Missouri and
Niobrara rivers, the park offers boat ramps, birdwatching and other wildlife
viewing, horseback riding trails and camping areas.
With plenty of natural scenery and knowledgeable, friendly personnel willing to
share facts and stories along the way, you’re sure to have a great experience and
gain a better sense of what the Corps of Discovery saw in 1804. It doesn’t matter
if you hit all the stops, or just one; the important thing is that you get out there to
see some of this history that Nebraska has to offer. ■
Justin Haag
Anglers who catch a fish with
peculiar little black spots on its scales
will almost certainly be safe putting
it in the frying pan – the “peppered”
fish has most likely been infected by
the larval stage of neascus, a parasite
harmless to humans.
“There are a variety of parasites
you’ll find in our state’s fish, and
none of them are harmful to humans
especially if you cook the meat,” said
Daryl Bauer, Nebraska Game and Parks
Commission fisheries biologist.
Neascus, commonly known as
black spot, is frequently found on the
skin and sometimes the flesh of fish
throughout the state. This parasite is
especially common on fish that live
in shallow waters near the presence of
fishing birds such as blue herons and
cormorants.
Such birds are one of several hosts
that provide a home for the parasite at
different stages of its life cycle. Adult
neascus live in the digestive tracts of
the birds. Its eggs find their way to
water and take up residence on snails.
From there, they become swimmers
and find fish.
“When the bird eats a fish, it is
infected with the parasite and the whole
cycle begins again,” Bauer said. “There
is nothing you can do about them.
They’ll always be out there.”
Bauer said anglers shouldn’t let
a little black spot keep them from
enjoying a meal: “If you filet the fish,
trim the spots out and miss a few,
you’ll be fine as long as you cook the
meat,” he said.
For more information about neascus
and other fish parasites, read the
Nebraska Pond Management Guide,
available at OutdoorNebraska.org. ■
Jeff Kurrus
I am a hater of litter, no different
than many outdoor enthusiasts. Nothing
is better than walking down a pristine
edge of lakefront, and nothing is worse
than not. So last year I performed a
small experiment in which I picked up
trash as I fished, but I didn’t spend a
lot of time doing it. Instead, I only let
myself pick up items on my way to
and from, and while walking around, a
lake. I wanted to see how much I could
collect in this minimal amount of time.
Answer: too much. Pictured below
is my take for the year, including a
tackle box, rodholder and handful of
usable lures. I plan on performing the
experiment again this year, and hope
I’m not the only one to do so. ■
quality lubricant of your choice to the
moving parts. If you are unsure in your
reel mechanic abilities, many fishing
shops will clean reels at a cost.
Line: It is always a good idea to
replace the line on your reel spools for
the upcoming season, especially if you
know the line received a lot of action
or it is monofilament line.
Tackle: Give your tackle box a
quick run-down. Clip any knots off
of the hooks, then replace any broken
or heavily rusted hooks, and sharpen
hooks that saw a lot of hard fish teeth
or caught hard rock snags. ■
PHOTO BY JEF KURRUS
See You Out There... But Where?
Do you know where this Nebraska photograph was taken?
See answer at the bottom of page 11.
NEBRASKAland Visitor
Winner and Hint
Last issue’s winner of
the Visitor drawing
was Steve Tyler of
Omaha, Nebraska, who found the
running crab spider on page 44.
Readers are encouraged to contact
NEBRASKAland within 10 days
after this issue’s publication with the
correct page number and name of
this issue’s “Visitor” – a bug found
in Nebraska that just happened to
find its way onto one of the pages.
We will then gather the correct
entries and draw one to win a
NEBRASKAland Magazine mug.
To enter each month, write:
NEBRASKAland Visitor
2200 North 33rd Street,
Lincoln, NE 68503.
Or e-mail:
Tim.Reigert@Nebraska.gov
with “Visitor” in the subject line of
the message.
HINT: This issue’s visitor is not
on page 5, 7, 11, 19, or 45.
OLIVE CREEK SRA NEAR KRAMER.
Daryl Bauer
Rods: Check your rod eyelets for
rough edges that could abuse your
line. To preserve cork handles sand out
any bumps or dirt, then apply a cork
sealing agent or varnish of some sort.
It’s always a good idea to store rods in
tubes while traveling or not fishing.
Reels: To clean and maintain a
healthy reel, first take the reel apart,
keeping track of the order in which
each part is assembled. Thoroughly
clean each component and apply a
PHOTO BY JUSTIN HAAG
10 NEBRASKALAND • APRIL 2013
Preparing For Open Water
APRIL 2013 • NEBRASKALAND 11
The turkey is in
Turkeys
A Photofactual Essay
By Jeff Kurrus
Whether archery hunting today or
awaiting the youth shotgun opener
on April 6 or the general shotgun
opener on April 13, here are a few
facts and photos to get the blood
boiling even more for hunting’s most
popular game bird.
12 NEBRASKALAND • APRIL 2013
Turkeys are known for their eyesight, compelling many hunters to wear patterns
that completely blend with their surroundings. However, a turkey’s ability to detect
movement is its greatest asset.
Permit Me to Harvest
Comparison [to the bald
eagle] a much more
respectable Bird, and
withal a true original
Native of America.
Eagles have been found
in all Countries, but the
Turkey was pecular
to ours . .He is besides,
though a little vain and
silly, a Bird of Courage,
and would not hesitate
to attack a Grenadier
of the British Guards
who should presume to
invade his Farm Yard
with a red Coat on.
— Benjamin Franklin
Nebraska
N
b k turkey
t k hunters
h t
are allowed
ll
d to
purchase up to three spring permits a year,
each allowing the harvest of one male or
bearded female turkey, or two fall permits,
which allows the harvest of two turkeys of eitherr
sex per permit.
The Fall 2011 turkey harvest was approximatelyy
8,400 birds, and last spring’s turkey harvest was
around 21,400. The success rate for Fall 2011
was almost 75 percent on a per-permit basis; last spring it was
approximately 63 percent.
For more information about hunting turkeys in Nebraska, pick up a
copy of the 2013 Turkey Guide, available at permit offices statewide
or online at OutdoorNebraska.org.
APRIL 2013 • NEBRASKALAND 13
Turkey Numbers
Because off heavy,
B
h
unregulated hunting pressure
following the arrival of
Europeans in North America
and the loss of habitat
associated with forest clearing,
the United States’ turkey
numbers were at an all-time
low by 1920, with wild turkeys
still found in only 21 of the
39 states that historically
supported a population.
However, regulated hunting
combined with intensive
habitat management efforts
have pushed continentwide
turkey numbers to an alltime high. Because of their
adaptability, they have been
introduced into areas outside
of their range and are now
present in all states except
Alaska.
Turkeys roost in trees as a defense mechanism against predators. The only times turkeys roost on the ground is when the weather
is too severe to support them standing on limbs and when hens are sitting on their ground nest, covering their eggs.
More Turkey Facts
You may already
Y
l d know
k
that
th t a tom’s
t ’ beard
b d is
i made
d up off
hairlike feathers, that turkeys are North America’s largest
game bird, have four toes, and can fly up to 55 mph, but
did you know the following?
An adult tom has straight, symmetrical tail feather edges,
while an immature male’s tail feathers are asymetrical.
A tom turkey’s wingspan is up to 72 inches – a bald
eagle’s is 79 to 90 inches.
There is no minimum legal age to hunt turkeys in Nebraska and youth 15 years of age
and younger can purchase $5 permits that are valid statewide.
Calling Birds
M
Most off the
h allure
ll
off turkey
k h
hunting,
i
especially
i ll
in the spring, comes from using calls to lure
toms within gun or bow range. A wide variety
of calls can be found on the market, and many
of them can be effectively used after very little
practice and/or coaching.
14 NEBRASKALAND • APRIL 2013
A turkey’s gobble can be heard almost a
mile away.
The average turkey has between 5,000 and 6,000
feathers, and a tom’s feathers are an iridescent red,
green, copper, bronze and gold, among other colors.
After Europeans arrived to this continent, they eventually
made turkeys one of only two domesticated birds native to
the Americas – the Muscovy duck (right) is the other.
The oldest known wild turkey lived more than 13 years.
The average lifespan is less than 2 years.
There are five subspecies of turkeys, none of which
migrate – the Eastern, Rio Grande, Merriam’s, Florida and
Gould’s. Nebraska has released both Merriam’s and Rio
Grande birds in the past and some Easterns moved here
on their own. Most Nebraska turkeys today are hybrids.
APRIL 2013 • NEBRASKALAND 15
By Gerry Steinauer, Botanist
O
Native American
Healing Traditions
Prior to Euroamerican settlement,
Plains Indians (and all other New
World peoples) depended on native
plants for medicine – knowledge
of the healing powers of plants was
critical to their survival. In 1932,
anthropologist Ales Hrdlicka wrote in
Disease, Medicine and Surgery among
the American Aborigines: “In every
tribe the older women and men knew
scores of herbs … They knew poisons,
emetics, cathartics, antifebriles, tonics,
narcotics and hemostatics, cleansing
solutions, healing gums, and powders.
They had antidotes. They employed
massage, pressure, scarification,
NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY RG1289.PH2-2
n a hot July afternoon in
2010, five members of the
University of Kansas (KU)
Native Medicinal Plant Research
Program scoured the rugged Niobrara
River Breaks in Nebraska’s Sioux
County. They clipped and bagged the
stems of silver-leaf scurf pea, prairie
sagewort and other sought-after plants.
In the riverbottom they dug the deep,
sprawling roots of wild licorice from
the sunbaked soil. In the KU medicinal
chemistry lab this plant material would
later be subjected to high-tech analysis
in search of valuable medicinal
compounds – an effort that continues a
millennia-long tradition of Great Plains
inhabitants seeking healing compounds
from prairie plants.
Nebraska ethnobotanist, Melvin R. Gilmore, pictured in 1907 with an Omaha tribe
member and children at an archeological summer camp.
16 NEBRASKALAND • APRIL 2013
cauterization, bandaging, splints,
sucking, enemas, cutting, scraping and
suturing.”
Though most Native Americans
knew commonly used plants, only
highly trained medicine men and
women possessed specific knowledge
of the many other medicinal plants
and their uses. This wisdom developed
over thousands of years of trial-anderror use of plants as medicine – some
healing traditions may have arrived
with the original aboriginal immigrants
from Asia some 13,000 years ago.
The Pawnees, for example, burned the
stems of yarrow and leadplant as short
punks on rheumatic joints to relieve
pain. Known as moxa, this practice
is commonly used in Asian medicine
today, which suggests it originated
there.
Knowledge of medicinal plants and
healing methods was passed down
orally from generation to generation
of Native Americans. Elders took
young disciples afield, teaching them
the characteristics and habitats of
specific plants, the proper time of
harvest, and methods of preservation,
preparation and use. The lessons were
precise, as many plants ingested as
medicine contained toxins. Locoweeds
and some milkvetches, for example,
contain potentially toxic alkaloids
and selenium, which could be deadly
if the remedies were not properly
prepared or the correct dosage used.
Native Americans’ knowledge of
herbal medicines perhaps equaled or
even surpassed that of modern man’s
expertise with natural drugs.
The arrival of Euroamericans on
the Plains in the mid-1800s brought
foreign diseases, war and displacement
to reservations. As our aboriginal
populations crashed and their cultures
crumbled, a wealth of medicinal plant
knowledge was lost. In the late 19th
and early 20th centuries, ethnobotanists
(those who study a people’s traditional
knowledge and customs of plant use)
PHOTO BY KANSAS BIOLOGICAL SURVEY
Healing
Plants of
the Prairie
The Niobrara
River Breaks
in Sioux
County.
Hillary Loring (left), Quinn Long, Kirsten Bosnak and Kelly Kindscher of the University of Kansas Native Medicinal Plant Research
Program hold the excavated root of wild licorice dug from a meadow in the Niobrara River Valley in Sioux County.
strove to document the remaining
knowledge before “the death of all the
old people who alone possess it.”
Early Ethnobotany
In his classic 1919 book Uses of
Plants by the Indians of the Missouri
River Region, ethnobotanist Melvin
R. Gilmore described the medicinal,
food and utilitarian uses of nearly 150
native plants by the Ponca, Omaha,
Pawnee, Winnebago and Sioux tribes.
A Valley, Nebraska, native, Gilmore
earned his doctorate in botany from the
University of Nebraska in 1919 at the
age of 46. For his book, an outcome
of his graduate work, he interviewed
native elders who had gathered and
used plants when the tribes still roamed
the unsettled plains, and who still
remembered their “old names, uses,
and symbolism.”
Gilmore described how the tribes
used the macerated root of purple
coneflower (Echinacea angustifolia),
a prairie wildflower found nearly
statewide, as an antidote for snakebite
and other venomous bites and
stings. To ease toothache, a piece
of macerated root was placed on the
painful tooth – the root contains a
novocaine-like substance that has
numbing effects. Gilmore reported that
a Winnebago “often used the plant to
make his mouth insensible to heat, so
that for show he could take a live coal
into his mouth.” Purple coneflower
was also used in a smoke treatment for
headaches in people and for distemper
in horses.
A Ponca informed Gilmore that
thyme-leaf spurge (Euphorbia
serpyllifolia), a small, sprawling
annual of sandy soils, “was boiled
and the decoction drunk by young
mothers whose flow of milk was
scanty or lacking, in order to remedy
that condition.” This may be an
example of the “belief in signs,” where
characteristics of a plant reveal its
potential medical use – spurges have
a white, latex-like sap and therefore
were thought suitable for nursing
mothers in need of increased milk
production. Of thyme-leaf spurge,
Gilmore wrote: “An Omaha informant
said it was used as a remedy in case of
dysentery and abdominal bloating in
children. For this purpose the leaves
of the plant were dried and pulverized
and applied after first cross-hatching
the skin with the head of a certain
plant. Then the pulverized leaves were
rubbed by hand on the abraded surface.
It was said to cause a painful, smarting
APRIL 2013 • NEBRASKALAND 17
18 NEBRASKALAND • APRIL 2013
variety of preparations. For unknown
diseases, perhaps cancers, they often
relied entirely on the spirit for healing.
Modern science is discovering that
many plants used by Indians in
medicines contain medicinally active
compounds, potentially explaining their
healing powers. The healing power
of other Native American medicinal
plants remains suspect; perhaps some
medicines were effective placebos.
Purple Coneflower
Unfortunately, little of the medicinal
plant knowledge possessed by Native
Americans was passed on to early
white settlers, as most Indians had
been isolated to reservations at the
time of settlement, and the greatly
differing spiritual views that underlay
the health systems of the two groups
made exchange and acceptance of
native healing traditions difficult. The
few plants that white settlers used to
treat ailments tended to be from outside
the region or were cultivated plants;
they also relied heavily on non-plant
remedies. Purple coneflower was one
of the few Native American medicinal
plants adopted for use by Plains
settlers.
Purple coneflower remained little
more than a folk remedy until 1871,
when patent medicine salesman H.C.F.
Meyer of Pawnee City included
coneflower extract in a tonic called
“Meyer’s Blood Purifier.” He boasted
that his secret purifier had “cured
613 cases of rattlesnake bite in men
and animals.” The purifier’s label
professed: “This is a powerful drug
as an alternative and Antiseptic in all
tumorous and Syphilitic indications;
old chronic wounds, such as fever
sores, old ulcers, Carbuncles, Piles,
eczema, wet or dry, can be cured
quick and active … It will not fail in
Gangrene … It relieves pain, swelling
and inflammation, by local use, internal
and external.”
Seeking an endorsement for his
purifier, Meyer sent a sample to
Dr. John King, a prominent doctor
in Cincinnati, and John Uri Lloyd,
a professor at the Eclectic Medical
The wild tomatillo, which grows nearly statewide in Nebraska prairies
and disturbed sites, contains steroids with known antimicrobial,
antitumor and anti-inflammatory properties.
PHOTO BY MICHAEL FORSBERG
sensation and to act powerfully upon
the bowels through the intervening
tissues and to give relief.”
Of butterfly milkweed (Asclepias
tuberosa), a now uncommon
wildflower in tallgrass prairies and
open woodlands in eastern Nebraska,
Gilmore penned: “The root was eaten
raw for bronchial and pulmonary
trouble. It was also chewed and
put into wounds, or pulverized
when dry and blown into wounds.
It was applied as a remedy for old,
obstinate sores. In the Omaha tribe
the ceremonials connected with the
digging, preparation, consecration, and
distribution [of the plant’s roots for
medicine] occupied four days.”
Spirituality was integral to Native
American healing, and medicine men
and women often used ritual, song,
drumming and prayer, in addition to
plants, to heal. They believed the spirit
healed the individual, and the plant was
the vehicle through which it worked.
For known conditions, such as fevers,
congestion and stomach ailments,
healers used specific plants for a
PHOTO BY QUINN LONG, KANSAS BIOLOGICAL SURVEY
PHOTO BY MICHAEL FORSBERG
Purple prairie coneflower growing at Spring Creek Prairie in Lancaster County. Extract from the plant was the key ingredient in
Meyer’s Blood Purifier, and compounds from the plant are now used in modern medicines.
Institute and co-founder of Lloyd
Brothers Pharmacists, a leading drug
company based in Cincinnati. To
demonstrate his product’s potency,
Meyer offered to bring a rattlesnake
to Cincinnati and have it bite him in
the presence of Lloyd. Lloyd declined
the invitation and dismissed Meyer,
having serious doubts about the
purifier’s professed healing powers.
King, however, later convinced
Lloyd Brothers to put an Echinacea
tincture on the market. Part of King’s
confidence in Echinacea stemmed from
the fact that it was the only drug that
gave his wife relief from the pain and
discharge of her ovarian cancer.
In 1917, Lloyd wrote that the
Echinacea tincture was a “therapeutic
favorite with many thousand American
physicians, and which is consumed in
larger quantities today than any other
American drug introduced during
the past thirty years.” Apparently the
tincture was most effective when the
ground root was mixed with four parts
alcohol to one part water.
During the 1920s, however, the use
of Echinacea fell into decline. This was
a time of discord between doctors who
favored the new lab-synthesized drugs
and those who favored herbal remedies.
The herbalists were losing. With
World War II came the development of
modern antibiotics, which was a near
deathblow for the use of Echinacea as
a medicine.
The herbal revival of the 1970s,
however, brought about a rebirth
of Echinacea’s popularity, both as
a botanical antibiotic and immune
system stimulant. The first modern
scientific research into Echinacea’s
medicinal properties began in the
1950s and continues today. Much of
this research has been conducted in
Germany, a country with considerable
scientific interest in medicinal plants
and with liberal laws concerning
their use. Pale purple coneflower (E.
pallida) and eastern purple coneflower
(E. purpurea), species common to the
south and east of Nebraska, have also
been subjects of investigation.
The research indicates the
Echinaceas have active medicinal
components, including compounds
Native Americans commonly used butterfly milkweed, a now uncommon wildflower
in eastern Nebraska prairies and open woodlands, as a medicinal plant.
with mild antibiotic activity against
the disease-causing Streptococcus
and Staphyloccus aureus bacteria. A
pentane-extracted oil from purple and
pale purple coneflower roots inhibits
Walker carcinosarcoma and a type
of lymphocytic leukemia. Highly
active polysaccharide molecules
from purple and eastern purple
coneflowers stimulate the immune
system, while other coneflower extracts
have anti-inflammatory properties.
Purple coneflower plants also
contain compounds with potential as
insecticides, one compound being toxic
to mosquitos and house flies. Today,
coneflower roots are still widely used
in herbal remedies, the plants being
commercially grown or harvested from
prairies.
APRIL 2013 • NEBRASKALAND 19
Modern
Ethnobotany
“By educating
people about
native plants and
their uses, I hope
they will learn
to appreciate
their values and
work to conserve
them.”
– Kelly Kindscher
PHOTO BY DAVID MCKINNEY/KU MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS
program staff have undertaken plant
collecting expeditions across the
Great Plains from Montana to Texas,
including the 2010 trip to Sioux
County and excursions to the Sandhills
in Thomas County and to Thurston
County (where the Omaha Indian
In the University of Kansas High Throughput Screening Laboratory, Peter McDonald,
Ph.D., uses a signal detection instrument to screen hundreds of plant extracts for
antioxidant activity.
20 NEBRASKALAND • APRIL 2013
Reservation is located). Believing
that plant species previously used
by Native Americans are good leads
for containing compounds useful in
modern medicines, program leaders are
choosing to concentrate their collecting
and testing on those species.
All plant species produce numerous
chemical compounds; the most
abundant, called primary compounds,
help plants grow and reproduce. Plants
also produce secondary compounds,
so called because they occur in minute
amounts and were once thought by
science to have no function. Secondary
compounds, however, have recently
been found to have many functions,
primarily protecting plants from
environmental stressors. For instance,
some secondary compounds screen
out damaging ultraviolet rays, others
are toxic or distasteful and dissuade
browsing mammals and foraging
insects, while still others fight diseasecausing bacteria and fungi. Because
they promote plant survival, many
secondary compounds are designed
to affect the cells, tissues, and
physiological function in competing
microorganisms, plants and animals.
Some exert their action in ways similar
to human hormones, neurotransmitters
and other compounds and thus have
potential medicinal value for humans.
Secondary plant compounds, or the
molecules modeled after them, are the
source of 25 percent of the prescription
drugs used in the United States today.
Plants of the semi-arid western Plains
are adapted to climatic extremes and
intense grazing and therefore thought
to contain more secondary compounds
than plants of the wetter, eastern Plains.
Western prairies, therefore, are a prime
collecting area for Kindscher.
“We collect whatever plant parts
the Native Americans used, whether
it be the roots, stems, leaves, flowers
or all parts,” said Kindscher. “We
also try to collect the same species
from several locations, as populations
may differ genetically and contain
unique secondary compounds. At
some locations, we also collect the
same species during different seasons
as growing conditions may affect
the presence or quantity of potential
PHOTO BY HILLARY LORING, KANSAS BIOLOGICAL SURVEY
Kelly Kindscher is one of the Great
Plains’ few ethnobotanists. A native
of Newton, Kansas, Kindscher spent
much of his childhood summers in
Nebraska on his family’s farm along
the Republican River in Webster
County. Here, in bluff prairies and
wooded bottoms, Kindscher’s father,
a teacher by trade, taught young
Kelly about native plants. He can still
recall the first plant name he learned
– Carolina anemone. His childhood
interest in plants persisted and evolved
to include ethnobotany. Kindscher later
studied botany at the University of
Kansas, earning a Ph.D. in 1991. For
his 1992 book Medicinal Wild Plants
of the Prairie: An Ethnobotanical
Guide, Kindscher reviewed the writings
of early Plains ethnobotanists and
interviewed Lakota medicine men and
women on the Rosebud Reservation in
South Dakota who still used medicinal
plants in traditional healing.
Kindscher is now a senior scientist
with the Kansas Biological Survey,
professor in environmental studies,
as well as co-leader of the KU
Native Medicinal Plant Research
Program, a joint effort between KU’s
Department of Medicinal Chemistry
and the Kansas Biological Survey.
Founded in 2009, its goal is to identify
medicinal compounds in Great Plains
plants for use in natural remedies,
foods, pharmaceuticals and veterinary
products.
Since 2010, Kindscher and other
University of Kansas Native Medicinal Plant Research Program staff spread collected
plant material on the floor of a Sioux County barn to begin the drying process.
medicinal compounds.” The group
harvests about 20 pounds of fresh
plant material of each species at each
location. Once dried, this will provide
the two pounds of material needed for
chemical analysis.
At KU’s medicinal chemistry lab,
chemists first grind the plant material
to the consistency of dried oregano,
then add solvents to break down the
material into a thick liquid. They use
complex techniques, such as liquidliquid partition and reverse-phase
chromatography, to isolate and then
identify individual compounds from
the liquid. Promising compounds, such
as potential antioxidants or anti-cancer
agents, are further tested.
Great Plains prairie plants likely
contain many medicinal compounds
waiting for discovery, but is the intense
effort needed to find these compounds
justified? Why not just create new
compounds in the lab? Though
chemists can artificially synthesize
millions of compounds in the lab, most
do not interact well with biological
systems and therefore have limited
medical value. Chemists also struggle
to lab-synthesize the medicinally
active compounds found in plants.
Morphine, for example, cannot be
created in the lab and must be derived
from the opium poppy. When chemists
can synthesize botanical compounds,
it is often in minute quantities and
more expensive than procuring the
compounds directly from the plants
that naturally manufacture them.
A high point of the KU medicinal
plant program’s recent efforts includes
the discovery of 14 previously
unknown medicinal compounds
(called withanolides) in the wild
tomatillo or common ground-cherry
(Physalis longifolia).” A member of
the nightshade family, along with
tomatoes and potatoes, the wild
tomatillo grows nearly statewide
in Nebraska prairies and disturbed
sites. Withanolides are steroids with
previously known antimicrobial,
antitumor and anti-inflammatory
properties. In tests on mice, the newlydiscovered withanolides shrank, and
in some cases completely dissolved,
aggressive cancers without side effects
or toxicity to normal cells (in high
concentrations many plant compounds
will kill cancer cells, but if they also
kill healthy human cells they cannot be
used as treatments). The Kansas group
also recently discovered promising
anti-cancer agents in several species of
Plains milkweed.
Kindscher’s goals for the medicinal
plant program go beyond the practical
application of new medicinal
compounds. He hopes to honor the
traditional knowledge of Native
Americans and to conserve native
plants. Over much of the Great Plains,
native landscapes – and the plants
they support – are fast disappearing,”
he said. “By educating people about
native plants and their uses, I hope to
encourage them to appreciate the value
of these plants and work to conserve
them.” ■
Much of the material for this
article came from
Kelly Kindscher’s book
Medicinal Wild Plants
of the Prairie: An
Ethnobotanical Guide
and other articles by
Kindscher.
APRIL 2013 • NEBRASKALAND 21
Building a
Low-cost,
Portable,
Photo Blind
Blinds are a great way to get up
close photos of wildlife. Here are
some tips for building one yourself.
Photos and text by Michael Forsberg
S
everal summers
ago I spent a
week in Tuttle,
North Dakota,
a tiny town
that straddles the 100th
meridian in the heart of
the prairie pothole region
– North America’s “duck
factory.” I was staying at
my friend Scott’s house
to photograph the vast
diversity of waterfowl
and other birds that live
and breed in the maze of
wetlands, lakes and rolling,
rock-strewn hills that
define the region.
Scott is both a waterfowl
biologist and a serious
waterfowl hunter. His
22 NEBRASKALAND • APRIL 2013
garage behind the house
was a duck hunter’s
dream: Bags of decoys
representing nearly every
waterfowl species in the
Central Flyway were
scattered across the floor;
chest waders and hip boots
hung upside down from
the rafters; blinds of every
shape and size were piled
high in the johnboat; and
a dozen cans of camo paint
and tools were arranged on
the workbench along the
back wall.
It was an amazing
display, but one thing in
particular caught my eye
one day while loitering
around the garage – a
A telephoto lens peers out of the blind set next to a plum thicket on a prairie hillside.
simple roll of 4-foot-high
garden fence standing on
end. Affixed to it were
several woven grass mat
panels, material usually
used to camouflage boat
blinds. The grassy fence
roll was held together by a
couple of bungee cords.
“What do you use that
for?” I asked Scott.
“It’s a very simple blind I
use from time to time,” he
said. “It’s relatively cheap,
lightweight and is easy to
set up. Works great.” This
was high praise from Scott
and, I was sure, came from
deep experience. I was sold.
In wildlife photography,
I’ve learned, what usually
works well for seasoned
waterfowl and archery
hunters usually works
for photographers as well.
Since that summer I
have deployed blinds like
Scott’s numerous times
with good success, whether
tucked away in the fold
of a prairie grassland or
set up along the water’s
edge. In a day and age
with lots of bells, whistles
and technology, it is still
often the simplest setups
that work the best, getting
you close to wildlife and
allowing you to feel one
with the landscape.
Turn the pages for stepby-step instructions on
how to build a blind like
this one for yourself.
APRIL 2013 • NEBRASKALAND 23
The Materials:
Garden fence typically comes in 20-foot rolls with varying
heights and can be purchased at most any hardware store.
I think 4-feet-high works best because that’s tall enough
to hide behind when you are sitting on stool, bucket or
folding hunter’s chair inside the blind. For grass mats, I
like to use FastGrass®. It comes in four roughly 4-footsquare mats of woven palm leaves and is lightweight,
has a great 3-D look that blends well with the prairie and
wetland vegetation and, if stored properly, can last years
before it begins to degrade.
The Tools:
1 package of zip ties, black or mid-tone colored
6-8 tent stakes
1 hammer, mallet or rock
A pair of wire cutters or pliers
Several heavy duty metal clips (because you never know when
you might need them)
Use the tent stakes to anchor the blind to the
ground. Once anchored, you may tweak the general
shape of the blind simply by bending the wire
frame. At this point you can use your extra wire to
fashion a roof if you need to.
Finally, put a chair, bucket or whatever you are
going to use to sit on, inside the blind and set up
a tripod and camera. Then cut an opening in the
wire frame for your camera lens, making sure to leave enough room to pan
left or right, up or down. Leave one side of the squarish opening uncut so
it acts like a hinge, allowing you to close the opening when you are done
using it. The Fastgrass® material will part easily around your lens.
When finished using your blind, you simply pull up the stakes and roll it up
like a carpet. A couple of bungee cords gathered around its waist make it
an easy carry out, or you can store it right out there on the landscape for
next time.
The Steps:
First roll out several feet of the fencing, lay it on the ground and walk back
and forth on it a few times until it flattens out. Next, place one of the grass
mat panels on the section of fence you just flattened and anchor the four
corners with zip ties.
Once the corners are anchored, use more zip ties to secure the middle of
the panel to the rest of the wire frame until snug. Then roll out more fence
and repeat the same procedure for the three remaining grass panels.
When done you will have one long, 16-foot section
with four feet of fence frame to spare. Cut the extra
fence off using your wire cutters or pliers and save
it – you can use it later to help shape a roof for the
blind with other camo material or natural vegetation
from the surrounding area. You can also choose to
leave the blind top open.
Now stand the fence on end and shape it into a
circle, leaving a two to three foot open space in the
back where you will enter and exit the blind.
24 NEBRASKALAND • APRIL 2013
This photo of a mule deer was taken from
the blind one winter afternoon in the
Nebraska Sandhills.
A regular contributor to
NEBRASKAland Magazine, Lincolnbased wildlife photographer Michael
Forsberg’s most
recent project is a film
collaboration with NET
Television — “Great
Plains: America’s
Lingering Wild” —
based on Forsberg’s
book of the same name.
APRIL 2013 • NEBRASKALAND 25
Elevators
Corn Country
Cathedrals
Text and photos by Jon Farrar
R
ail lines branched across
Nebraska like blood vessels
from an artery in the 1870s
and 1880s, particularly in eastern and
southern counties. Where there were
not already towns, new ones sprouted
from the rich farmland, usually spaced
eight to 15 miles apart, close enough
most farmers using a team and wagon
could go to town and return home the
same day.
Inevitably rising as the highest
building on the skyline of these towns
was the grain elevator, as farmers
were beginning to produce more grain
than needed to feed their livestock
and began selling the surplus. These
elevators and rail lines linked the
farming community to regional
markets as well as bringing them the
necessities of life. When railroads
were advancing into new territory they
often financed elevators, a short-lived
practice judged as being illegal as it
constituted a monopoly of two critical
links in marketing grain. With each
passing decade these tin-sided elevators
have become less common. Once
monuments to the land’s fertility and
the industry of the families who farmed
it, today they are remnants of times
past, of agriculture vastly different than
today, reminders of what once was.
Grain elevators were built of
materials such as tile blocks, but woodcrib elevators were less expensive and
the type most commonly constructed
in the late-1800s and first half of the
1900s. Among many meanings for the
word “crib” is a bin for storing grain.
Wood-crib elevators were utilitarian,
almost stark structures with no frills,
except, perhaps, the name of the
Crib-style elevators were once common in small towns across northern Nebraska, north of the Sandhills where hard ground was
suitable for raising crops. Elevators were the connection between farmers and markets, and always located adjacent to a rail line.
Steel scoops attached to a long conveyor belt called a “bucket elevator” lifted grain high
enough to be dumped in a bin. These discarded scoops were at a Fairbury elevator.
26 NEBRASKALAND • APRIL 2013
company painted high on one or more
of the sides for all to see. They were
designed for function and simplicity.
Reduced to the simplest description
they are a rectangular box standing on
end, internally divided into separate
bins (10 or more), with a receiving pit
where grain was dumped and a “bucket
elevator” – a long belt with cups or
scoops to lift the grain high enough
to be dumped in one of the bins. In
the beginning the belt was powered
by horses, then gas-powered engines,
and eventually driven by electric
motors. Most wood-crib elevators
have a sloped-shoulder gable roof.
The headhouse, the cupola atop the
elevators, was where spouts directed
the grain into one bin or another. The
operator selected the bin by turning
a steel wheel from below. Exterior
spouts were used to load rail cars.
So efficient was the design that most
wood-crib elevators looked much the
same, varying largely in capacity and
some having adjacent, attached storage
buildings.
Grain can weigh up to 60 pounds
a bushel. To contain the enormous
lateral pressure of a bin full of grain,
the elevators were built hell-for-stout.
Depending upon the size of the elevator
the lower walls were constructed of
either 2-by-8 or 2-by-6 lumber stacked
horizontally, so the walls were either
six or eight inches thick. The boards
were nailed together; the union of two
boards in one layer was always covered
by the board above so there were
no vertical seams, even short ones,
to weaken the walls. Corners were
interlocking like a log cabin. Higher
parts of the elevators were often built
of 2-by-4s – also flat, one upon another
– as the lateral pressure was not so
great. In some regions the structure was
finished with a wood-siding exterior,
but most in Nebraska were covered
with sheet metal.
Some wood-crib elevators were
small, holding about 10,000 bushels
of grain. As years passed they grew
in capacity, some large enough to
hold as much as 60,000 bushels.
However, there was a limit to the size
a wood-crib elevator could be built
and the amount of grain that could
be stored in one bin. That was at the
core of their demise – agriculture
outgrew them. Through the first half
of the 20th century, most small farms
were diversified with pastures for
cattle, alfalfa for forage, and oats
for the horses that powered farm
machinery. As years passed, more
land was planted to grain crops and
increasingly more grain was produced
than needed to feed livestock. By the
mid-1900s, with irrigation and the
application of inorganic fertilizers,
yields incrementally crept higher to
APRIL 2013 • NEBRASKALAND 27
Small elevators were often associated with mills, where grains were ground for flour, meal or livestock feed. Sometimes farmers
would trade grain for a finished product or sell it outright to the miller. This one is located about four miles east of Guide Rock.
once unbelievable numbers of bushelsper-acre.
Harvesting equipment had also
changed – shelled corn poured from
harvesting equipment into trucks and
was taken to steel bins on the farm
or directly to the nearest elevator.
The need for larger storage structures
grew with the ever-increasing yield
28 NEBRASKALAND • APRIL 2013
of the land. During the 1950s and
1960s, more and more large-capacity
concrete elevators were being built.
Even an average-sized, concrete silo
elevator had the capacity to replace
15 or more wood-crib elevators, and
some significantly more than that.
As livestock vanished from many
farms, all harvested grain was sold
on the market. Even more land was
put into row-crop production after the
expansion of center-pivot irrigation
beginning in the 1970s.
Today most farms have steel bins for
storage and driers to reduce the grain’s
moisture content. Ear corn air-drying
in wood or wire-mesh cribs became
novelties. The mobile shellers that
Most surviving elevators and mills are boarded up. Gone is the hustle and bustle of
grain being delivered and finished products being loaded on wagons by the sack load.
once went farm to farm emptying the
cribs vanished. There was no longer
any need for a good terrier on the
farm to catch and kill the rats as they
squirted out from the cribs as they were
emptied.
Large wooden barns once found
on nearly every farm were the first
to begin vanishing from Nebraska’s
farm-country landscape. They had
become obsolete – their lofts no longer
filled with hay, their stalls no longer
filled with work horses or milk cows.
While many loved having the old barn
on the place, they were expensive to
maintain: the exterior walls required
periodic painting and replacing the
wooden shingles was cost prohibitive.
Some barns weathered, leaned ever
more precariously and finally collapsed
from benign neglect. Some were
methodically disassembled to salvage
the lumber. Some became practice fires
for the local volunteer fire department.
Wood-crib elevators, because of
their massive construction and sheetAPRIL 2013 • NEBRASKALAND 29
Tin-covered crib elevators were virtually indestructible and could have lasted decades.
Their greatest threat was grain dust being ignited by a spark or careless smoker.
The little town of Abdal northwest of Superior was plotted in 1899, but before the town existed there was a crib elevator, serviced
by the Kansas-Nebraska Railway Company. The original elevator could hold six railcars of grain. Today, a farming family owns it.
metal exteriors, had the potential to
last far longer than wooden barns
unless they were destroyed by a fire
that was spark-ignited in their dustfilled chambers. Once abandoned,
these elevators could have endured
for decades – unless nails holding the
exterior sheeting in place rusted away
or were worked free by relentless
winds creeping under the metal
sheeting, peeling them away a section
at a time. Once the wood walls were
bared and exposed to the elements,
their life expectancy was much
diminished.
And so, like the old wooden barns,
30 NEBRASKALAND • APRIL 2013
wood-crib elevators dwindled in
number – lost to fires and not rebuilt,
destroyed to make way for larger,
concrete-silo elevators, or removed
because they were no longer needed
and considered an eyesore. Most
of those remaining today are filled
only with dust and pigeons, but some
are still used as part of larger grain
storage complexes of steel bins and
concrete silos, and dwarfed by them.
A few were purchased by farmers
or a farming corporation and used
privately where they stood or moved.
Today, a wood-crib elevator that once
was large enough to serve a whole
farming community is about right for a
corporate farm. Here and there, a few
of the old elevators were converted into
unique houses.
By the 1970s, many minor rail lines
had been abandoned, isolating small
town elevators and leaving transport by
trucks the only means to move grain to
markets. And as small towns began to
wither, there was even more incentive
to abandon the small elevators. Today,
some wood-crib elevators stand
isolated, the once-accompanying town
and rail line gone.
But they still persist, here and there.
Finding them is almost like a scavenger
hunt. Drive U.S. highways 275 and
20 west from Norfolk and you’ll find
them – Oakdale, Neligh and Stuart. Or
drive U.S. Highway 136 or Nebraska
Highway 8 that parallel Nebraska’s
southern border – Fairbury, Hubbell,
Chester, Byron, Hardy, the ghost
town of Abdal northwest of Superior,
Nelson, Guide Rock, Red Cloud,
Inavale and Riverton. Or pick a small
town on a road map and go looking –
Pawnee City, Humboldt, Shubert, Elk
Creek … . It won’t take long to find
a gathering of elevators in Crawford.
There are wood-crib elevators along
State Highway 2 northwest from Grand
The design of nearly all crib-style elevators was similar, but varied in size and adjacent
storage structures. This one in Stuart is flanked on both sides by concrete tubes.
APRIL 2013 • NEBRASKALAND 31
Left: Jim Hyberg dumps a truckload of corn into a receiving pit so it can be carried up into one of the Shubert elevator’s bins. Today
most crib elevators stand empty, reminders of times gone and now simply roosting and resting places for pigeons.
Island – Cairo, Mason City, Ansley,
Broken Bow, Merna and Anselmo.
And if you go looking where you
don’t expect to find them, you might.
It seems odd to find a grain elevator
in the heart of the Sandhills, where
raising cattle, not growing corn, is
how the land is used, but there it is in
Mullen with a raft of pigeons on the
roof soaking up the morning sun. It
is, probably, a reminder of the early
history of the region when farmers
were granted free land under the
Homestead or Kinkaid acts, when small
fields were scratched in dry valleys
and for a few years produced enough
grain not only for home use but to sell.
The hopeful experiment did not last
long, and by the 1920s nearly all of the
farmers and fields of grain were gone.
One can imagine the scene at the
foot of a small town’s wood-crib
elevator at harvest time in the early1900s, a relatively dust-free and quiet
32 NEBRASKALAND • APRIL 2013
setting, farmers bringing the reward
of a growing-season of labor to sell,
their teams tied off, talking as they wait
their turn to dump their grain, some no
doubt exaggerating how many bushels
per acre of corn they grew.
In time, tractors pulling wagonloads
of grain and ancient old trucks kept
mostly for that purpose replaced the
horse-drawn wagons. The scene today
is America as it is today – all about
efficiency and profit. Giant concrete
silo elevators loom over some small
towns; semi-trucks belching diesel
fumes are lined up for a block or more,
waiting to dump grain or haul it away;
the drone of dryers is constant; and
women only hang their wash to dry
when the wind is not blowing grain
dust their direction.
Those who fancy old wood-crib
elevators sometimes, rather
romantically, call them “prairie
skyscrapers,” “sentinels of the prairie”
or “prairie cathedrals.” Referring
to them as prairie anything is
contradictory, however, as it was the
plowing of the prairies that created the
farmland that filled the elevators with
grain. Perhaps the old elevators are the
prairie’s tombstones.
Some attention has been paid to
the Great Plains’ vanishing woodcrib elevators. Saskatchewan is
particularly proud of theirs, as is
Kansas. Nebraskans do not seem to
see much historic value in old and
unused elevators, although the Ithaca
grain elevator in Saunders County,
built about 1890, is on the National
Register of Historic Places. More
should be preserved – they are a part
of the agricultural history of the state.
It could be argued they are a more
important symbol of what we were
in Nebraska than another old house
in a town. At least some are worth
keeping, and maintaining them would
be inexpensive. But, nostalgia does not
pay the bills. ■
APRIL 2013 • NEBRASKALAND 33
THIN TO WIN
By Justin Haag
C
The benefits of thinning overgrown
ponderosa pine forests – and an
example of what happens when they’re
allowed to grow unchecked – were
evident in western Nebraska last year
as a massive late-summer wildfire
burned seemingly out of control.
After starting in the rugged, forested
canyon country 15 miles southeast of
Crawford, the raging West Ash Fire,
as it was known, blazed northeast
across the drought-stricken, tinder-dry
PHOTO BY JUSTIN HAAG
ard players cutting the deck
often recite the phrase “thin to
win” in hopes of being dealt a
good hand. In the ponderosa
pine forests of northwestern
Nebraska, “thin to win” has been used
to get the upper hand in a bigger game.
Thinning has become the keystone
management tool in western forests
that have become increasingly
susceptible to wildfires when extended
periods of drought grip the landscape.
Joe Blazek, assistant superintendent of Fort Kearny State Park, cuts down a burned
tree near the cabins at Chadron State Park in February. Commission crews worked
through the winter to remove trees that could pose a hazard to park visitors or
buildings after last year’s big wildfires.
34 NEBRASKALAND • APRIL 2013
PHOTO BY ERIC FOWLER
When massive wildfires struck northwestern
Nebraska in 2012, Nebraska’s oldest state park
became a crucial point in the fight against them.
Thanks to a decade-long forest management project
at Chadron State Park and the decision to light a
backfire there, one of the worst fires was halted,
saving the Pine Ridge from further destruction.
countryside and entered Chadron State
Park just a little more than two days
later.
Fire officials say forest conditions
at the park, where countless trees
had been thinned in recent years in
order to reduce fuel loads for just
such a situation, were much better
than those in most of the Pine Ridge,
where largely unmanaged forests and
extremely dry conditions had created
dangerous fire conditions. The park’s
tree management strategies ultimately
helped keep the blaze from jumping
U.S. Highway 385 and racing the nine
miles to Chadron through the area
burned in the 2006 Spotted Tail Fire.
Joe Lowe of Rapid City, S.D., the
incident management team commander
who supervised the inter-agency battle
against the fires near Crawford and
Chadron, said one of the primary
goals early on was saving the park
and keeping flames from crossing the
highway.
With the West Ash Fire quickly
approaching, officials decided it would
be best to start controlled fires in the
park to reduce ground fuel, protect
structures and keep the wildfire from
having its way with the area as it had
already done with much of the ridge.
Had the past forest thinning not
occurred, however, it would have been
difficult to keep even a controlled burn
from erupting and making its way into
the area burned by the Spotted Tail
Fire. Fires in areas burned in the past
can be extremely difficult to manage
– downed timber not only adds to the
fuel load but also make such areas
virtually inaccessible for equipment.
“If that fire would have gotten
into the old burn scar, it would have
burned with a vengeance and it would
have been very hard to keep it out of
Chadron,” Lowe said. “We drew a
really hard line to make sure that fire
did not jump (Highway) 385.”
The back-burning, which was
started outside the park’s scenic loop
The scars of three forest fires, and the
varied behavior of the one that burned
through the park last summer, can be
seen from a hilltop above the Sawmill
Shelter in Chadron State Park. The recent
fire burned hot enough to kill the needles
on some ponderosa pines. Others were
torched black. But in some places, such
as on the hillside at right center in this
photo, thinning efforts during the past
10 years cooled the flames enough that
trees remain green and should survive.
The hillside at top left has been mostly
free of trees since the Dead Horse Fire in
1973. The pines that covered the distant
hillside at top center were destroyed in
the Spotted Tail Fire in 2006.
APRIL 2013 • NEBRASKALAND 35
Belmont
B
Fire August
1989, 2,500 acres.
Unnamed fire March
2006, 1,000 acres.
Soldier Creek Fire
August 2007, 3,586 acres.
Dead Horse Fire July
1973, 3,500 acres.
Corkscrew Fire June
1990, 1,000 acres.
Unnamed fire March
2006, 600 acres.
Cottonwood Fire June
2012, 3,948 acres.
Cunningham Creek Fire
September 1976, 2,500
acres.
Unnamed fire Spring
2000, 1,000 acres.
Spotted Tail Fire July
2006, 17,899 acres.
Douthit Fire August
2012, 29,731 acres.
Roberts Fire July 2006,
10,079 acres.
West Ash Fire August
2012, 58,836 acres.
Thayer Fire July 2006,
29,466 acres.
Wellnitz Fire August
2012, 48,615 acres in
Nebraska, 28,961 acres in
South Dakota.
Sawlog Fire September
2000, 1,278 acres.
McIntosh Fire July
1985, 3,150 acres.
Fort Robinson Fire July
1989, 48,000 acres.
Luneburg Fire
September 2000, 800
acres.
Rudloff Fire July 2006,
8,379 acres.
DAWES
Five
Fi Points Fire Early
1960s, 2,000 acres.
W
e
h it
e
Riv
Metcalf WMA
Gilbert-Baker WMA
8
10
DAWES
SIOUX
19
21
Chadron
r
Bordeaux Creek WMA
1
SHERIDAN
Major Pine Ridge Fires (500 acres or more)
11
13
18
15
Chadron State Park
Fort Robinson State Park
17
Harrison
5
NGPC owned or managed areas
16
Bighorn WMA
Peterson WMA
Fires prior to 2012
Fires in 2012
14
Crawford
Key
Hay Springs
2
Wh
Ponderosa WMA
9
iver
it e R
Chadron Creek Ranch WMA
20
3
4
12
Enlarged Area
7
6
US Forest Service
Major streams
IMAGERY (ESRI), FIRES (USFS & NGPC – COMPILED BY TRISHA SCHLAKE), MAP CREATED BY SUDHIR PONNAPPAN
PHOTO BY DAVE KINNAMON
drive, was successful for the most
part, but some hot ashes were blown
hundreds of yards by fierce winds,
sparking flames within the loop and
placing the park’s 22 cabins, some
constructed as far back as the 1930s,
and other structures in danger. Park
superintendent Dave Kinnamon, who
was among the dozens of Nebraska
Game and Parks Commission
employees involved in fighting the
Pine Ridge wildfires, said he feared
Commission crews watch a backfire
started by fire officials burn toward the
Cabin Trail at Chadron State Park in
August 2012.
36 NEBRASKALAND • APRIL 2013
every cabin would be lost at that point.
Thankfully, an air tanker carrying
12,000 gallons of fire retardant arrived
in time to douse the park structures
and stray flames that had jumped the
highway.
When the smoke cleared, green
needles could still be found hanging
on many of the park’s pines, indicating
that the trees still had some life. This
was in contrast to much of the forest
between Chadron and Crawford, which
was left charred from turf to treetop.
Lowe is among the many longtime
observers who say 2012 was the worst
year they have witnessed for battling
wildfires. From June through October,
nine large fires – most started by “dry”
lightning (storms that bring lightning
but no rain) – burned 271,514 acres
across the state, from the Niobrara
River Valley of north-central Nebraska
westward. The damage was particularly
extensive in the Pine Ridge, with
163,000 acres scorched by the Wellnitz
Fire north of Hay Springs and the West
Ash and Douthit fires near Chadron
and Crawford. Five homes burned
and hundreds of rural residents were
evacuated as a precaution. At one
point, the West Ash fire moved eight
miles in 14 minutes.
“It was extremely dry and extremely
hot for so long. We had explosive fire
conditions,” said Lowe. “That fire
ran hard for many days in the timber
stringers.”
Trees “Pining” Away
In Nebraska, where only two percent
of the land is labeled forest, special
value is given to tree-covered areas and
these places are becoming even more
cherished as time goes by.
Doak Nickerson, Nebraska Forest
Service district forester, said the Pine
Ridge forest has gone from a quarterAPRIL 2013 • NEBRASKALAND 37
38 NEBRASKALAND • APRIL 2013
the market from states suffering
damage done by mountain pine beetles,
however, that demand has all but
disappeared in recent years, as have
most thinning operations, which were
subsidized or even paid for by timber
sales.
Nickerson has been promoting other
uses for forest materials, including
renewable energy. He would like
to see more of the excess materials
converted to ethanol or burned in
biofuel operations. If it’s going to burn,
he said, it is better for it to burn in a
boiler than a forest fire. It’s a tough
sell, but he says it makes sense, could
be profitable and is better than doing
nothing.
“When you stand back and take a
look at the big picture and the burn
intensity in 2012, you don’t have to
go too far from the park to see what
happens in unmanaged forests,” said
Nickerson. “A lot of the Nebraska
National Forest, quite frankly, had too
many trees per acre. That’s OK as long
as you don’t have something like what
happened in 2012.”
Mike Groenewald, Nebraska Game
and Parks Commission horticulturist,
and Nickerson were among those who
spearheaded the effort to thin the park
at the turn of the century. Groenewald
noted that of the 750 burned acres in
the 770-acre park, only 30 burned hot
enough to die immediately.
“We’d done a lot of thinning work,
and I think that is why we didn’t lose
every tree and structure in the park,”
he said.
According to Groenewald,
approximately 400 acres of the park
were thinned from 2001 through 2010.
While many considered it a bold move
PHOTO BY ERIC FOWLER
million acres to half of that in five
decades, and data indicates that the
Pine Ridge now has fewer acres of
ponderosa pines than does the Niobrara
River Valley to the east.
“The fire season of 2012 carved
three huge holes in our forestry source
in the Pine Ridge and didn’t leave a
lot behind,” he said. “We’re losing the
Pine Ridge. If we can’t right this ship,
we’re going to lose it.”
Nickerson wishes more of the forest
had been thinned the way Chadron
SP has been, but noted the fires could
have been worse. The best thing that
ever happened to the Pine Ridge forest,
he said, was the 20-year stretch of
market demand for lumber beginning
around 1990 – many trees were cut
down then, decreasing the forest’s fuel
load. Because of the recent economic
downturn and a glut of lumber entering
PHOTO BY ERIC FOWLER
Shortly before a massive wildfire burned through the Ponderosa
Wildlife Management Area near Crawford in August 2012, a trail
camera captured images of a mountain lion and her two kittens
drinking at a water tank. What you won’t see if you watch a video
produced with those and other images by the Commission is the
scene during the weeks following the fire when only one of the
kittens returned to the tank. This evident separation of the family
group is just one documented case of how wild animals were
affected by last summer’s fires, said Todd Nordeen of Alliance,
district wildlife manager for the Commission.
Some evidence of the wildfires’ effects were painfully obvious,
Some wild turkeys, including this one found at
including scattered deer carcasses along fence lines and in the
Ponderosa WMA, were among the wildlife unable
timber, as well as dead wild turkeys near roost trees. It is virtually
to escape last year’s wildfires.
impossible, however, to calculate how many birds and mammals
died as a result of the fires, said Nordeen.
Countless small mammals, such as rabbits and squirrels, were probably not able to stay ahead of the fires,
especially considering the incredible speed of the flames in some areas. Others animals fared better: Data from
tracking collars showed that some bighorn sheep traveled ahead
of and around the flames, moving back into their home range
when the fires were out. All the sheep with collars were found
alive, but the fate and whereabouts of some sheep that didn’t
have collars remains unknown.
Nordeen said much of the regions’s wildlife moved to unburned
areas after the fires. Some elk in the Hat Creek area north of
Harrison, for instance, are believed to have moved into Wyoming.
When the burned areas turn green again, he expects many of the
animals to return.
Despite the loss of tree cover, Nordeen said the fires will actually
help some species. Birds such as red-headed woodpeckers, for
example, thrive in areas of dead timber, and both bighorn sheep
and mule deer prefer open country to thick forests.
Bighorn sheep ewes pause on a burned hilltop
“As devastating as it is – you often hate to see the loss of those
at Chadron State Park in October.
older trees – fire is a natural event that happens every so often,”
said Nordeen. “You set back that (habitat) succession and it grows again.”
To see the video of the mountain lion family at the water tank, go to www.youtube.com/NGPCnews and look
for “Wild Cats and Wild Fire in Nebraska.”
PHOTO BY BEN WHEELER
PHOTO BY ERIC FOWLER
WILDLIFE AND WILDFIRE
at the time – it’s hard for some people
to realize that cutting down trees can
be a good thing – hindsight has proven
the project wise. Although some groups
of trees torched, a crown fire, one that
leaps from tree top to tree top, couldn’t
sustain itself due to the tree spacing.
The park certainly didn’t escape
unscathed, and neither did other
Commission owned lands in the Pine
Ridge – the Bighorn and Metcalf
wildlife management areas east of
Crawford and north of Hay Springs
were completely burned, while the
Chadron Creek and Ponderosa WMAs
south of Chadron and east of Crawford,
respectively, were between 30- and
45-percent charred. Wildlife in the area
was also affected (see sidebar).
What is still uncertain is how many
of the trees still carrying green needles
will survive. Temperatures exceeding
100 degrees before and during the fires
had the pines starving for moisture,
compounding the severity of their
exposure to the fires. Nickerson said
the flame length and heat generated
from the grass below the trees
was unprecedented in his years of
experience.
Post-fire tree survival across the Pine
Ridge may hinge on the amount of area
precipitation this spring and summer,
but forecasters aren’t placing many
bets on rain.
Groenewald said trees at the park
suffered varying degrees of damage
and that those that have 70 percent of
their green needles remaining have a
solid chance of survival. Even those
pines, however, were exposed to
extreme heat and many are circled with
charred bark several feet high.
“We have a lot of trees with 20- to
30-percent green top crown,” he said.
“Whether they’re going to live or not
– I’m leaning toward they probably
won’t if we don’t get some moisture. If
we get some moisture, some probably
will. Those that are 50-percent green,
it’s just anybody’s guess – it’s probably
a 50-50 thing on whether or not they
will live.”
The true extent of the damage will be
known sometime around the beginning
of June, said Groenewald. He is
hoping 40 percent of the trees survive.
Officials will have a better idea of what
steps are needed for rehabilitation this
summer.
Photos taken near the Spotted Tail Shelter at Chadron State Park in January 2011 (top)
and October 2012 give a before and after view of the park and the hills to the south
following the Ash Creek Fire in August. It will be June before it is known how many of
the trees that were still green and had a chance of surviving actually would.
Looking Forward
Despite the challenges it faces,
Chadron State Park has already begun
its road to recovery.
Groenewald organized Commission
crews in January and February to
remove hundreds of the park’s burned
trees for safety reasons around cabins,
roads and trails. Plans are being
developed to replace fencing that was
lost, and the park still has its cabins,
miles of trails and countless pine trees.
New plumbing, air conditioning and
roofing projects for the cabins will
make them even more appealing when
the park begins its official summer
season Memorial Day weekend. With
a little moisture, park-goers will be
greeted by a blanket of new vegetation
this spring.
Regardless of how well the trees
bounce back, the summer of 2013
marks a new beginning at Nebraska’s
oldest state park and officials say it
is much better off because of past
management decisions and plans for
the future. It will undoubtedly retain
some scars from the monumental
battle of 2012, but officials expect it
to prosper despite the hand it’s been
dealt. ■
Justin Haag
recently joined the
Commission as a Public
Information Officer
and NEBRASKAland
regional editor. He is
based out of Chadron.
APRIL 2013 • NEBRASKALAND 39
Banking on
AnglerAccess
By Eric Fowler
Opportunities Abound Across State
I
f a fish swims near the shore, but
no one can get there to catch it,
does it matter?
Not being able to fish from
shore is rarely the case at any of
Nebraska’s public waters, but for some
bank anglers it may seem that way:
Getting to prime stretches of shoreline
can sometimes require rock climbing
or bushwhacking, something many
anglers can’t or aren’t willing to do.
The Angler Access Program,
Access Plan
Recently Completed Projects and
What Was Done:
Louisville SRA, 3 lakes, (3, 5);
Burchard WMA (1, 2, 3, 4, 5); Carter
Lake (1, 4, 5); Swan Lake (6);
Valentine NWR (3)
Projects Under Construction:
Fremont SRA, 15 lakes (2, 3, 4, 5);
Arnold Lake (1, 3, 4, 5); Bowling
Lake (3); Victoria Springs SRA (1, 2,
3, 5); Harlan County Lake, Gremlin
Cove (3, 4, 5)
Projects on Deck:
Lake Helen (1, 3, 4, 5); Conestoga
SRA (1, 2, 3, 4, 5); West Gothenberg
WMA (2, 3, 5); Brady WMA (2, 3,
5); West Brady WMA (2, 3, 5); West
Maxwell WMA (2, 3, 5); Fremont
Slough WMA (2, 3, 5); Birdwood
WMA (2, 3, 5); Hershey WMA (2, 3,
5); Sandy Channel WMA (2, 3, 5)
40 NEBRASKALAND • APRIL 2013
Vegetation
Management: Create
lanes of open water
through the submergent
aquatic vegetation
that rings some lakes,
especially following
Aquatic Habitat Program
projects, so anglers
don’t have to fight
through the “weeds”
during their retrieve.
Trails: Paved trails
that serve hikers and
bikers are more likely
to be built by cities and
other entities partnering
in lake rehab projects,
but the Angler Access
Program can sometimes
help build permanent
trails to get anglers to
good fishing spots like
breakwaters, including
some that meet ADA
requirements. Mostly,
however, the program
since 1996 has invested more than
$45 million to improve fish habitat in
60 Nebraska waters, primarily older
reservoirs. “We’ve created some great
fisheries, but we haven’t always made
it very easy to fish them,” said Porath.
In 2009, the Nebraska Legislature
approved a plan to increase the price
of the Aquatic Habitat Stamp, required
of all anglers, from $7.50 to $10. The
approximately $400,000 in additional
revenue each year is earmarked to the
improves primitive
trails that anglers have
already blazed to prime
fishing locations or
forges trails to new fish
structures.
Fishing Piers: Piers
help anglers reach the
deep water where fish
are found most of the
year, and in some cases
get them to the outside
edge of the weedbed
that often holds fish.
Some piers are built on
pilings, but others are
floating structures.
Breakwaters and
Hard Points: Like piers,
these structures get
anglers closer to deep
water, but because
of their cost, few are
built solely for access.
Where they are built for
Aquatic Habitat Program
purposes, however,
they are often improved
for angler access by
surfacing the tops and,
where appropriate, the
sides.
Reshaping
Shorelines: Some good
fishing spots are hard
to reach or impossible
to cast from because
of steep banks. The
Angler Access Program
reshapes some of these
areas, making them
easier to reach and fish
from.
Easements: There are
numerous public lakes
in the Sandhills that are
surrounded by private
land. The Angler Access
Program works with
landowners interested
in allowing access,
developing trails, roads
and, in some cases, boat
launches. ■
PHOTO BY ERIC FOWLER
There are numerous ways to make
it easier for bank anglers to get to
fish. Here are the ones the Angler
Access program focuses on:
launched by the Nebraska Game and
Parks Commission in 2010, is working
to fix that problem by using a variety
of techniques ranging from building
fishing piers to grading shorelines to
make it easier for land-bound anglers
to get to the fish.
Mark Porath, Aquatic Habitat
Program Manager for the Commission,
said the access program was created
to “fix a good problem” created by
the Aquatic Habitat Program, which
Angler Access
Program. A
list of about 100
potential projects was created with
input from the public, park and
fishery managers and prioritized
to ensure a geographic mix to
benefit anglers throughout the
state. Waters close to cities,
where projects would benefit
more people, are a priority. The
list includes adding access features
to current and planned aquatic
habitat projects, going back to lakes
where work has been completed, and
improving or gaining access at lakes
where fishing was fine without the help
of that program.
In cases where fish are a short cast
from shore, simply making it easier
for people to get to the shoreline is
enough. That work could include
developing trails from parking areas to
prime spots, or improve existing trails
that anglers have already blazed. Those
trails might lead to breakwaters built
of large rock by the Aquatic Habitat
Program that the access program can
surface with concrete or crushed rock
to make them easier to walk on and
fish from. In some cases, this surfacing
does not end on top of the breakwaters,
but extends down the sides, easing
access to the water’s edge. Similarly,
selected areas of shorelines armored
with large riprap are also smoothed
with smaller rock.
Future trails may be similar to the
loop trail being built around Lake No.
17 at Fremont Lakes SRA to improve
access to the south side of the lake.
Previously, anglers had mostly fished
the steep north bank by the parking
lot. Some trails will lead to locations
that obviously hold fish, others might
be created to guide anglers within
casting distance of brush piles or other
underwater habitat created under the
Aquatic Habitat Program.
Steep, high banks at the waterline
of some lakes are another impediment
the Angler Access Program tries to
correct. In some cases, a narrow strip
of dry land is bounded by water on one
side and a cliff on the other, making it
impossible to complete a full backcast,
not to mention difficult to reach.
Shelby Parrott of Lincoln holds a bluegill caught at Holmes Lake in Lincoln. The large
rocks that armor the sides of the breakwater she is standing on, as well as other
breakwaters at the lake, were smoothed with smaller crushed rock to make it easier for
anglers to reach the water’s edge.
“You’ve got to be a young spry kid to
crawl down them and hopefully you’ll
get back out,” Porath said. “Lake 1 at
Louisville is a great example of that.
But anglers had scrambled down a
steep bank there for years because it
was a good little fishing area. So we
clipped the bank, put in a set of stairs
and built a pier right next to the water.
Now it’s easy to get to the water and
easy to fish along the shoreline.”
That pier is one of two permanent
piers built on Lake 1 at Louisville.
Another covered pier was built on
Lake No. 2. Porath said that while
piers built atop pilings driven into
the lakebed are longer lasting, they
are more expensive to build. For
that reason, floating
piers are used on
many lakes
where feasible,
allowing
the program’s
APRIL 2013 • NEBRASKALAND 41
“A lot of times we can fix a lake, but if we just have a single access point around the
boat ramp and 90 percent of the shoreline is inaccessible, you’re really only going to
improve that habitat for the boat fisherman.”
— Mark Porath, Aquatic Habitat Program Manager
PHOTO BY ERIC FOWLER
boat anglers. Another way the access
program helps bank anglers deal with
aquatic vegetation is by creating gaps
in those weedbeds, primarily by laying
down fabric and rock barriers that
inhibit their growth. These strategically
placed openings also create additional
edge cover for fish to hide in.
The Commission has also used
Angler Access funds to help the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service install
fishing docks at three lakes on the
Valentine National Wildlife Refuge,
with two more planned. These docks
are long enough to get anglers beyond
the cattails that typically ring those
Sandhills lakes.
Finally, the Angler Access Program
works to gain access to publicly
owned waters that are surrounded by
private land. This especially applies
to meandered lakes in the Sandhills.
“Some landowners are interested in
allowing public access, but to build a
road around there to get there to make
a service launch, that’s difficult,”
said Porath. “With the Angler Access
Program we can enter a long-term
agreement with them to do that.” The
program has already paid for a lease
agreement with a landowner to allow
access to Swan Lake south of Atkinson
in Holt County.
Admittedly, easements such as that
one, which only opens a small stretch
of a lakeshore to bank anglers, are of
greater benefit to boat anglers who
can then fish the entire lakeshore. The
majority of access program projects,
however, will help level the playing
field a bit for bank anglers.
“A lot of times we can fix a lake,
but if we just have a single access
point around the boat ramp and 90
percent of the shoreline is inaccessible,
you’re really only going to improve
that habitat for the boat fisherman,”
said Porath. “The people that are going
to fish right at the boat ramp don’t
get to take advantage of the great
fishing across the entire lake. So what
we’re trying to do now is incorporate
fishermen-friendly ideas with our fishfriendly ideas.” ■
PHOTO BY JEFF KURRUS
John McIntyre of Yutan shows off a nice stringer of crappies caught from a breakwater at Lake Wanahoo State Recreation Area. The
breakwater and the pier that tips it are among the features benefitting bank anglers that were included in the design of the lake and
are also part of the Angler Access Program.
funding to go further. Most of the
piers, whichever type they may
be, are accessible to people with
limited mobility, including those in
wheelchairs.
Piers themselves can attract fish,
which are drawn to shade they provide
and the food web that begins with plant
growth on the pilings. Commission
staff make them
even more
attractive
by
stuffing trees under the piers. “That’s
really attractive to bluegill and other
panfish, and then the predators like
largemouth bass come in at the same
time,” said Porath.
When ponds and reservoirs fill,
shorelines often erode and leave a
stretch of shallow water that may
be too far to cast across. Piers,
breakwaters and hard points all get
bank anglers closer to deep water
which can hold fish year-round.
They can also get anglers
past the aquatic
vegetation that
rings many
waters
Last summer, contractors built this
covered pier on Lake No. 2 and two
others on Lake No. 1 at Louisville State
Recreation Area to give anglers better
access to deep water.
42 NEBRASKALAND • APRIL 2013
PHOTO BY DOUG CARROLL
following a habitat project, thanks
to improved water quality. “What’s
considered too much vegetation by a
fish manager is completely different
than what’s too much vegetation by
a fisherman,” said Porath. Aquatic
vegetation is critical to a healthy
fishery, but when curly leaf pondweed,
for example, grows from the shallows
to depths of six or eight feet and
creates a band of vegetation around
an entire lake, anglers tend to have
problems.
“You’ve got to throw your bobber
out a long way to get past that,” said
Porath. Anglers skilled and brave
enough to attempt to cast to the outer
edge that often holds fish get frustrated
at having to clean weeds off their
hooks or losing fish they try to drag
back through them.
Piers and breakwaters can get anglers
beyond that weedbed, allowing them
to fish the outer edge along with the
Hard point structures, such as this one at Bowling Lake in Lincoln, help anglers get closer to deep water
and, when possible, are surfaced so that mobility-impaired anglers can use them as well.
APRIL 2013 • NEBRASKALAND 43
from NEBRASKAland‛s Trail Tales magazine for kids
We All Benefit
New program helps landowners and the hungry.
By Teresa Lombard, Hunters Helping the Hungry Coordinator
I
n Nebraska, good land stewardship resonates with almost
everyone. Farmers and ranchers in particular value
keeping a good balance between agricultural uses and
maintaining healthy wildlife populations.
Landowners, however, are often challenged by all the
details of true stewardship, particularly when it comes to
the deer population on their land. The best way to control
deer is through hunting, but what’s a hunter to do when, for
the overall health of the land and the herd, more deer need
to be removed than can be easily consumed? It’s unethical
(and illegal) to waste deer meat, and while many hunters are
willing to share their excess harvest, it can be a challenge to
make the connection between the person harvesting a deer
and people who could really use the meat.
Nebraska’s new Hunters Helping the Hungry program
is helping to solve that problem. Created by the Nebraska
Legislature with the passage of LB 928 in 2012, Hunters
Helping the Hungry uses donated money to pay selected
meat processors to process deer given to the program by
hunters. Charitable organizations then pick up the processed
venison and distribute it to needy Nebraskans across the
state. Hunters Helping the Hungry is funded entirely by taxdeductible donations that are made throughout the year by
hunters, businesses and individuals.
One individual, who donated deer at Belschner Custom
Meats in Amherst and wanted to remain anonymous, offered
the following perspective, “On our property there is an
overpopulation of deer, and we can’t possibly eat all the
deer we would like to harvest. In the past we have donated
deer to individuals, but this year we learned that we could
donate deer to the program and not pay processing costs.
This worked great because we can’t afford to pay for all the
permits and all the processing to really manage the deer on
our land the way we would like.”
This landowner estimated that deer caused $20,000 in crop
damage per year to their farm and said that over the last five
to 10 years her family and the hunters they’ve allowed to
hunt on their land have probably taken 250 deer off of their
land – almost all does.
“We generally only harvest one buck per year – all of
the deer that we donated to the program this year were
does. This new program makes it much more affordable for
landowners to harvest more deer, and Belschner’s provided a
great service by providing the processing for the program.”
Last November, 600 pounds of venison were provided
to the Open Door Mission in Omaha, and its president,
Candace L. Gregory, was very appreciative:
“Open Door Mission provides 816 beds and more than
2,000 hot, nutritious meals to the hungry and homeless
daily. We are very grateful to the hunters whom not only
have a love of hunting for themselves, but are also willing
to provide for others, as well. The venison that has been
44 NEBRASKALAND • APRIL 2013
Donated venison can be substituted for beef in most recipes
and fills an important nutritional void in some people’s diets.
donated through the Hunters Helping the Hungry program
has been used to make a variety of menu items and provide
healthy nutritious meals in our community kitchen.”
Last fall marked the inaugural season for the program.
Some highlights for the program’s first year include:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
More than $89,000 donated to the program by hunters,
businesses and individuals
213 deer donated
An average yield of 54 pounds of processed meat per
deer, for a total of 11,536 pounds of venison
16 different charitable organizations helped distribute
the venison
11% of the 188 hunters who donated a deer donated
more than one
21% of the deer donated were harvested on landowner
permits
13% of donated deer were harvested using nonresident
permits
If you would like to find out more about the program or
help support it with a tax-deductible charitable donation,
please visit www.OutdoorNebraska.
org/hhh. Or, if you have a smart phone,
you can scan the code at the right to go
directly to the Shop NGPC page on the
Nebraska Game and Park Commission’s
web site to make a donation by credit
card. ■
Have questions? Contact Teresa Lombard,
Hunters Helping the Hungry Program Coordinator, at
teresa.lombard@nebraska.gov.
APRIL 2013 • NEBRASKALAND 45
BOOKS/PUBLICATIONS/VIDEOS
FISH/FISHING
NEBRASKA WILDFLOWERS. It’s baaack ... ! Out
of print for 21 years, the second edition of Field Guide
to Wildflowers of Nebraska and the Great Plains is
now available. This 6-inch by 91/8-inch paperback is a
must have for anyone interested in learning more about
wildflowers in Nebraska and the Great Plains region and
makes a great gift. To order this publication or to learn
about other great gift ideas, visit NebraskalandGifts.com
or call (800) 742-0056.
GET YOUR FISHING PERMIT online today! Don’t
wait until tomorrow to enjoy Nebraska’s great outdoors
by going fishing with the family. To purchase a permit
from the comfort of your own home, go online to www.
OutdoorNebraska.org and click on Purchase a Permit
under Licenses and Fees.
EXPLORE NEBRASKA art, history, culture and the
great outdoors with a subscription to Nebraska Life
Magazine. One year (six issues) for $21 or two years
(12 issues) just $38. Phone (800) 777-6159, write us at
206 W Norfolk Ave, Norfolk NE 68702-0819 or visit
www.NebraskaLife.com. Makes a great gift.
“BECOMING AN OUTDOORS-WOMAN” cookbook.
150 pages containing a variety of recipes, including
traditional home cooking along with Dutch oven and wild
game. $9.75 plus $2.50 shipping. Call (402) 471-5482, or
go online to www.NebraskaBOW.com.
DOGS
DUCKDAWG RETRIEVERS - Raising exceptional
yellow and black Labradors. 30 month written health
guarantee. www.duckdawg.com North Platte, NE (308)
534-3659.
PREMIER GUNDOGS TRAINING KENNEL, Inc:
Nebraska state licensed gundog training kennel specializing
in training programs for waterfowl and upland hunting
retrievers, spaniels, pointing Labradors and all gundog
pointing breeds. Dale-Kris Taylor (402) 787-2048, www.
premiergundogs.com.
FLATLANDER KENNELS INC, Scottsbluff, Ne. This
region’s premier full-time retriever training facility for
the serious hunter or AKC and HRC hunt tester. Trainer
of NE, CO, KS and SD’s first and only GRHRCH’s!
Training, puppies and stud dogs available for all levels of
hunt tests and gun dogs. Chris Jobman (308) 249-0707,
www.Flatlanderkennels.com.
46 NEBRASKALAND • APRIL 2013
FISH FOR SALE. Catfish, largemouth bass, smallmouth
bass, perch, crappie, bluegill, walleye, rainbow trout,
grass carp, minnows. Pleasant Valley Fish Farm, 72645
U.S. Highway 83, McCook, NE 69001. (308) 345-6599.
Beautiful dining room with fireplace. Headquarters for
General Nelson Miles, Wounded Knee Incident, 1890-91.
115 Main Street, Chadron, NE 69337 (308) 432-3380.
www.chadron.com/oldemain.
BIG BLUE RANCH & LODGE – Enjoy fishing,
horseback riding, hunting, hiking and birdwatching on
working cattle ranch in southeastern Nebraska. Beautiful
log lodge with fireplaces, kitchens and big covered
porches, overlooks 20 acre lake. www.bigblueranch.com
(402) 865-4335.
NEBRASKA LAKE MANAGEMENT. Biological lake
surveys, fish stocking, rough fish control, lake aeration,
algae control, aquatic weed control. Rob Hofpar, Aquatic
Biologist, licensed, insured and qualified. (402) 784-6005
Valparaiso - (888) 850-2460 www.nelakes.net.
BLUE CREEK LODGE - Oshkosh, NE. 13,000-acre
farm and ranch resort. Located by Crescent Lake National
Refuge and State WMA. First-class lodging, fishing and
hunting, boat rentals, waterfowl, upland bird, coyote
and mule deer hunting, family reunions, meetings and
getaways. Visit: www.bluecreeklodging.com or call
(308) 772-9912.
CRESCENT LAKE FISHING – Blue Creek Lodge,
located seven miles south of the best panfishing in the
Sandhills of Nebraska. The lodge offers bass boat rentals
for your fishing excursions and a five-star lodge with
additional fishing and hunting on the property. Visit
www.bluecreeklodging.com or call (308) 772-9912.
STONE’S COUNTRY CABIN: Open year-round,
minutes from Harlan County Reservoir. Fully furnished
two bedroom, w/d and full kitchen. Families, hunters
and anglers are welcome. (308) 799-4475 or (308)
920-0027. www.harlancountymeatprocessors.com/html/
stones_country_cabin.html
FOOD/GIFTS/HOME
HOMEBREWING/BEER AND WINEMAKING.
Fermenter’s Supply, 8410 K Plaza, Suite #10, Omaha,
NE 68127. Phone orders only, (888) 655-2739. Advice
line (402) 593-9171. www.fermenterssupply.com.
GUIDES/OUTFITTERS
CANOE - KAYAK - TUBE RENTALS on the
beautiful Niobrara River with Dryland Aquatics
at Sparks, Nebraska. Your Niobrara River Specialist.
(800) 337-3119. www.drylandaquatics.com, info@
drylandaquatics.com.
VACATIONS/RESORTS
TAKE AN IN-STATE vacation this spring and summer
or start making vacation plans for next fall! Close to
home, affordable rates and locations with a view – visit
a Nebraska state park or recreation area this year, even if
only for a few days. Go to OutdoorNebraska.org and click
on State Parks to look at the multiple options available
and to make reservations at state park facilities located
across Nebraska.
Classified Rates: 85¢ per word, minimum $15.
Closing: First business day six weeks before issue
date. Classified ads are accepted on a first-come,
first-served, space-available basis. Classified
Ads, NEBRASKAland Magazine, P.O. Box 30370,
Lincoln, NE 68503-0370. Telephone (402) 4715473. Fax: (402) 471-1984.
E-mail: ngpc.ads@nebraska.gov.
THE OLDE MAIN STREET INN. A historic bed and
breakfast listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
APRIL 2013 • NEBRASKALAND 47
A Great Plains Force of Nature
Wildfires – dangerous, sometimes ferocious and often impressive – are a fact of life on the prairie.
By Roger Welsch
I
▲
This is a photo of my great-grandfather, Glen Fruide, and his brotherin-law, Clyde Whittington. My great-grandfather and great-grandmother,
Esther, used to own and operate a cafe and motel at Kingsley Dam in
Ogallala back in the 1950s and ‘60s. As kids, we used to play under the
basement stairs where he kept his hunting gear. I can still remember
the aroma of rubber waders, gun shells and wooden decoys. Special
memories.
The second picture, above, is of motel and cafe that they owned. It was
taken from Kingsley Dam.
– Jeff Krull, Lincoln, Nebraska
This is a picture of my father, Frank
Armstrong, who lived near Brunswick.
The catfish was taken from the
Elkhorn River by Neligh in the late1940s.
– June Armstrong Wilgocki,
Columbus, Nebraska
▲
▲ Taken in the early 1950s during
the winter when carpenter work
was scarce, my dad, Carroll
Saunders, hunted, skinned, and
sold coon hides. This is a section
of the house where we lived south
of Waterloo on the Elkhorn River.
It’s me with the black-and-tan
hounds.
– Barbara Saunders Fowle,
Grand Island, Nebraska
Send contributions to: Portraits from the Past, NEBRASKAland Magazine, P.O. Box 30370, Lincoln, NE 68503-0370. Or e-mail to
tim.reigert@nebraska.gov. Photos should show people enjoying Nebraska outdoor activities, such as camping, boating, hunting or fishing,
and must have been taken before 1980. We will give priority to unusual photos or activities. When possible, please include a story about
the photograph and identify the people, places and approximate date it was taken. Photos will be returned.
48 NEBRASKALAND • APRIL 2013
wrote these words hoping that they would make no sense
whatsoever by the time you read them. We are now
seven months into deep drought and live in constant fear
of fire. Will some idiot up in town decide it’s a good
time to burn trash and start a fire that won’t stop racing
downwind until it hits Oklahoma? Or, as has happened
before, will a careless driver toss a lit cigarette out of a car
window and leave acres of death and destruction behind
him?
Am I exaggerating?
Well, yes, but no more
than natural. A couple
weeks ago Linda and I
smelled smoke and ran
from the house to find
the air filled with a gray
haze. We jumped into
our pickup truck and
drove to the upwind
edge of our land, where
we were relieved to
find no flames. So we
cruised town to see if a
friend perhaps needed help fighting a fire there. Still nothing.
We drove miles north and west out of town looking for the
fire and then listened to our scanner for emergency fire
calls. Still nothing. We got an answer to our curiosity later
that night when we watched the 10 o’clock news and the
meteorologist pointed out a long, narrow line of smoke on
his radar screen, streaming right over Dannebrog – from a
fire near Valentine, 200 miles away.
I should have known. My life work with pioneer history
should have reminded me that homesteaders knew of
approaching fires days in advance, fires moving faster than
a man could ride on horseback. Omaha and Pawnee war
parties signaled their impending return to the home village
by setting a grass fire, which traveled downwind faster than
they could travel on foot or even horseback. The belief was
that white smoke showed they were returning with captives;
black smoke, horses.
I have witnessed two prairie fires, one a planned burn,
the other a terrible mistake. Both times I was amazed. Dry
prairie grass doesn’t just burn; it explodes. The roar is
terrifying. Sheets of flame blasting into the sky and forward.
God help anything in the path of the inferno. No wonder our
friends, Sheila and Monte in Sheridan County, spent long,
sleepless nights in their pickup trucks this past summer,
sitting on hills on their ranch, watching for dry lightning
strikes, hoping to head off any fires before they could go out
of control and destroy livestock and fences.
On the frontier, homesteaders fought flames with what
they had. There were, after all, no fire departments, little
water and never enough manpower. So if they had time
they quickly plowed firebreaks to protect their farmsteads,
but that was rarely successful because a full-fledge, prairie
wildfire throws flaming torches high into the air and
downwind, well ahead of the flames on the ground. In
desperation, some settlers slaughtered valuable livestock (or
earlier, buffalo), cut open the animal and dragged the carcass
behind a galloping horse to wet the grass with blood. Burlap
bags were doused with
water and everyone
available, including
the youngest children,
swung the wet cloth in
an effort to stop just
enough of the flame to
save a home and barn.
Backfires could be
effective if there was
time and the flames
were not so ferocious
that nothing was enough
to forestall destruction.
Men on horseback
backfired, ran for creeks and wet mud if any was near, or
galloped at full speed laterally across the fire front in hopes
of outflanking the flames. It was a desperate run – failure
meant death.
When there are fires here today, we see the damage with
sorrow but we can also see how fire was not just a symptom
of these Great Plains but the very force that made them what
they are. Where there are black, burnt acres in the autumn,
the greenest grass appears in spring, fed by nutrients in the
ashes, the ground warmed early by sun on the black surface.
Another small comfort I get from a season of prairie fires is
that I impress friends unfamiliar with the Plains by telling
them that a Sandhills fire has burned 130 sections of land
– 130 square miles! And then, after I pause for effect, I
add that there was no loss of life and damage to only three
structures in that massive blaze.
As our long tradition of tall-tales says so well, “Yep,
Nebraska. No ordinary person can survive out here. I’m
doing fine. Living in Nebraska is a little like being hanged
– the initial jolt is fairly sudden, but after you hang there a
while you kind of get used to it.” ■
Roger Welsch is an author, humorist and
folklorist. For years he was a regular guest
on CBS’s Sunday Morning with Charles
Kuralt. Welsch resides in Dannebrog,
Nebraska, with his wife, Linda. He has
appeared in NEBRASKAland Magazine
since 1977.
APRIL 2013 • NEBRASKALAND 49
Short-eared Owls
I
was on an early evening hike with my two-year-old daughter last November through Martins Prairie at Pioneers
Park Nature Center in Lincoln when we first saw the short-eared owls flying low over the tallgrass prairie.
I felt an immediate attraction to these beautiful raptors as I wanted to learn more about them. I also wanted to
use their presence to help teach my daughter about the importance of protecting our local prairies – short-eared
owls are grassland raptors, meaning that they are very likely to hunt, roost and nest in prairies such as the one
found at Pioneers Park.
There were numerous trips out to photograph these birds. Each time brought a different experience. A couple
of the most memorable were my first time there, when the two short-eared owls discovered me in my hiding spot
in the tall grass on the side of a small bank overlooking the pond. Both circled no more than 10 feet above, trying
to communicate with their scratchy, barklike sound. The second was this past winter about a week after a good
snowfall. I carefully made my way to the fence posts on the north part of Martins Prairie, where I would always see
them perched through my telephoto zoom lens. I moved a couple steps at a time, as I didn’t
know where they were at the time and didn’t want to accidentally surprise and spook them.
I finally came to a spot that I thought would be a good distance – 30 to 35 yards from their
normal perching area – sat down and adjusted my camera settings. As I sat there, I could
sense something observing me, watching as I fiddled with my gear. Slowly I raised my head
up and looked towards the fence posts. Sure enough, there sat one of the “shortys,” with an
almost unhappy look on its face. We both sat looking at each other for 30 to 40 minutes until
its hunting friend showed up, a northern harrier.
Adrian Olivera
June 29, 2012
50 NEBRASKALAND • APRIL 2013
Position: 736 (15 views)