Volume 101, Issue 6, 2023
July 2023
- Identifier:
- nela.2023_101_06
- Title:
- Volume 101, Issue 6, 2023
- Issue Name:
- July 2023
- Date Issued:
- 2023-07-01
- year:
- 2023
- month:
- July
- Season:
- Summer
- PDF filename:
- NL_101.06_2023_Jul_Spreads_Entire.pdf
- Publisher:
- Nebraska Game and Parks Commission
- Format:
- Periodical
- volume:
- 101
- issue:
- 06
- number:
- 101.06
- Decade:
- 2020s
- Type:
- Rights Holder:
- Copyright Nebraskaland Magazine/Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, all rights reserved.
- Extracted Text:
-
magazine
$4.95
To renew your subscription or change your
address call 1-800-632-5263
I N S P I R I N G O U T D O O R A DV E N T U R E S I N C E 1 92 6
J U LY 20 23
INSIDE
Campfire Therapy • The Last Relic — Niobrara State Park Picnic Shelter
Less Ammo on the Range • A Summit Lake Staycation
Neligh Mill at 150 • Catfishing the Niobrara • The Ponca Sasquatch
2
Nebraskaland • July 2023
July 2023 •
Nebraskaland
3
Volume 101
July 2023
No. 6
FEATURES
20
CAMPFIRE THERAPY
26
OUTDOOR NEBRASKA
28
By Eric Fowler
What to Do in July
By Renae Blum
AN OUTDOOR STAYCATION
Summit Lake State Recreation Area
Photos and story by Jenny Nguyen-Wheatley
34
NELIGH MILL AT 150
38
CATFISHING THE NIOBRARA
By David L. Bristow, History Nebraska
One Man’s Lifetime of Fishing
By Gerry Steinauer
44
THE LAST RELIC
48
LONG PINE CREEK
By Eric Fowler
Work Creates a Unique Fishery
in the Sandhills
Story and photos by Eric Fowler
DEPARTMENTS
8
12
56
64
66
Your Nebraska
In the Field
Mixed Bag
Portraits from the Past
The Last Stop
ON THE WEB
For more articles and
information, visit
NebraskalandMagazine.com
Cover: Some say that staring into the flames of a campfire can be
C
rrelaxing and therapeutic. See the story on page 20.
ERIC FOWLER, NEBRASKALAND
E
T page: Meadowhawk dragonfly (family Libelulidae) at Smith
This
LLake Wildlife Management Area in Sheridan County. JUSTIN HAAG,
N
NEBRASKALAND
Nebraskaland (VOL. 101 / NO. 6 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.
4
Nebraskaland • July 2023
July 2023 •
Nebraskaland
5
Magazine Staff
magazine
Published by the Nebraska Game and Parks
Commission since 1926. The Commission is
dedicated to the conservation and protection
of all the state's natural resources and the
people who use them.
Communications Director Christy Firestone
Public Relations Manager Shawna RichterRyerson
Editor Jeff Kurrus
Associate Editor Jenny Nguyen-Wheatley
Regional Editors Eric Fowler, Julie Geiser,
Justin Haag
Contributing Editor Michael Forsberg
Regular Contributors Renae Blum,
Chris Helzer, Chris Masada, Todd Mills,
Ryan Sparks, Gerry Steinauer
Art Director Tim Reigert
Graphic Designer Mel Severin
Photo Librarian Jaclyn Cruikshank Vogt
Administration
Director Tim McCoy
Deputy Director Jim Swenson
Assistant Director Roger Kuhn
Board of Commissioners
Chairman - Scott Cassels, Omaha
Vice Chairman - Doug Zingula, Sidney
2nd Vice Chairman - John Hoggatt, Kearney
Robert Allen, Eustis
Pat Berggren, Broken Bow
Rick Brandt, Roca
Ken Curry, Columbus
Donna Kush, Omaha
Circulation
For address changes and questions about your
subscription, call 800-632-5263
Advertising Sales Manager
For advertising information contact
Shane G. Gilster, 402-742-0125
Email: shanegilster@gmail.com
Conservation Officers
Headquarters and Southeast District Office
2200 N. 33rd Street / P.O. Box 30370
Lincoln, NE 68503-0370
Phone 402-471-0641 / Fax 402-471-5528
ADMINISTRATION (Lincoln)
Craig Stover (Administrator)
Duane Arp (Asst. Administrator)
Travis Shepler (Asst. Administrator)
Jeff Clauson (Asst. Administrator)
Northwest District Office
299 Husker Road / P.O. Box 725
Alliance, NE 69301-0725
Phone 308-763-2940 / Fax 308-763-2943
Northeast District Office
2201 N. 13th Street / Norfolk, NE 68701-2267
Phone 402-370-3374 / Fax 402-370-3256
Kearney Service Center
1617 First Avenue / Kearney, NE 68847-6057
Phone 308-865-5310 / Fax 308-865-5309
Bassett Service Center
524 Panzer Street / P.O. Box 508
Bassett, NE 68714-0934 / Phone 402-684-2921
Fax 402-684-2816
Omaha Service Center
8495 Frederick Street / Omaha, NE 68124-3054
Phone 402-595-2144 / Fax 402-595-2569
EAST SUB-DISTRICT
Jerod Hahn (Deuel, Garden, Grant)
Hunter Lee (Keith)
Jaden Porter (Keith, Garden)
Travis Schultz (Morrill, Cheyenne)
Tyler Stueck (Keith)
Brandon Wallace (Keith)
WEST SUB-DISTRICT
308-672-1824
Justin Gress (Box Butte, Sheridan, Grant)
Hunter Pearson
308-629-9335
308-360-1817
(Kimball, Banner, Scotts Bluff)
(Sheridan, Dawes, Grant)
Jacob Stoinski (Sioux, Dawes)
Josh Widhelm (Scotts Bluff)
Nebraskaland • July 2023
308-615-9017
308-279-9133
NORTHEAST (Includes counties covered)
Dale Davis (Lieutenant)
402-760-0712
NORTH SUB-DISTRICT
Jeff Jones (Sergeant)
402-762-5022
Tyler Adelman
402-314-4783
(Knox, Cedar)
Jonathan Andreasen
402-340-3981
John Bauer (Holt, Boyd)
Mitch Johnson (Knox, Antelope, Pierce)
402-314-9257
402-613-8612
SOUTH SUB-DISTRICT
6
308-520-5539
308-280-4320
308-289-2274
308-279-1292
308-289-6260
308-280-4488
Sean McKeehan (Sergeant)
(Madison, Pierce, Stanton)
The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission does not discriminate
based on race, color, ethnicity, national origin, sex, pregnancy, sexual
orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, age, genetic information,
veteran status, marital status, and/or political affiliation in its programs,
activities, or employment. 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 Nebraska Equal Opportunity Commission, Lincoln,
NE 402-471-2024, TTY/TDD 800-642-6112; Director, Office of Diversity,
Inclusion and Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Interior, 1849 C Street,
NW, Washington, D.C. 20240.
402-471-5531
402-471-5531
402-471-5531
402-471-5531
NORTHWEST (Includes counties covered)
Dan Kling (Lieutenant)
308-430-0572
(Rock, Brown, Keya Paha)
OutdoorNebraska.org
JEFF KURRUS, NEBRASKALAND
Nebraskaland Magazine Copyright 2023, 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 Offices
Southwest District Office
301 E. State Farm Road
North Platte, NE 69101-0430
Phone 308-535-8025 / Fax 308-535-8028
Velvet will start being visible on deer
antlers.
Cory Krause (Sergeant)
402-380-6410
Kelbi Abke (Washington, Burt)
Matt Costello (Dodge, Colfax)
Nicholas Fix (Dixon, Dakota, Thurston)
Mark McDonald (Dodge)
Kyler Prochaska (Platte, Colfax)
402-237-2537
402-317-4014
402-508-0261
402-805-2353
402-830-8278
(Cuming, Wayne, Stanton)
CENTRAL (Includes counties covered)
Mike Thome (Lieutenant)
308-293-8746
NORTH SUB-DISTRICT
Doug Pollard (Sergeant)
308-730-7050
Matt Brandt (Sherman, Howard)
308-202-0819
(Loup, Garfield, Valley)
Klint Gill (Nance, Wheeler, Boone)
Daryl Teter (Howard, Greeley, Merrick)
SOUTH SUB-DISTRICT
402-613-5800
308-440-1863
Matt Taylor (Sergeant)
402-200-9597
Pat George (Harlan, Franklin, Phelps)
Eric Javins (Adams, Clay, Webster)
Ethan Teter (Buffalo, Kearney)
Tim Williams (Hall, Hamilton, York)
308-920-2762
402-902-2017
308-440-3847
308-380-7331
(Thayer, Fillmore, Nuckolls)
SOUTHWEST (Includes counties covered)
Brian Piernicky (Lieutenant)
308-330-8780
NORTH SUB-DISTRICT
Ray Dierking (Custer, Thomas, Blaine)
Alex Hasenauer (Lincoln, Perkins)
Greg Hesse
308-870-0322
308-660-4671
308-546-7464
Frank Miller (Cherry, Hooker)
Brandon O’Neal
402-389-0444
308-530-3157
(Hooker, Thomas, southern Cherry)
(Lincoln, McPherson, Logan)
SOUTH SUB-DISTRICT
Matt Andrews
308-746-2418
Taylor Dixon (Dawson, Gosper)
Kelsey Glodowski
308-217-2108
308-763-8226
Sophia Gobber
308-222-0368
Bryce Streger (Dawson, Gosper, Custer)
308-537-0404
(Furnas, Gosper, Frontier, Red Willow)
(Dundy, Hitchcock)
(Chase, Dundy, Hayes, Hitchcock)
SOUTHEAST (Includes counties covered)
Stacey Lewton (Lieutenant)
402-890-7140
EAST SUB-DISTRICT
Heath Packett (Sergeant)
402-210-0888
Bryan Adams
402-429-1924
Brian Arp (Douglas, Sarpy)
Rich Berggren (Douglas)
Mike Luben (Saunders, Butler)
Russell Mort (Otoe, Johnson)
531-530-9011
402-619-1355
402-443-6392
402-209-1506
(Cass)
(Nemaha, Pawnee, Richardson)
WEST SUB-DISTRICT
Dina Barta (Lancaster)
402-890-6463
531-333-6093
Luis Nuñez (Lancaster)
Curt Prohaska (Lancaster) 402-470-1298 Mark Matt
402-806-0915
Seitz (Gage, Jefferson)
402-741-0636
Sullivan (Lancaster, Seward, Butler)
402-314-9641
Trevor Stahlecker (Lancaster, Saline)
YOUR NEBRASKA
Instagram Photos
Follow us @nebraskaland
and tag us in your photos
to be featured in an
upcoming issue.
Nate Riggins
West Des Moines, Iowa
Chimney Rock
8
Nebraskaland • July 2023
July 2023 •
Nebraskaland
9
YOUR NEBRASKA
Britton Bailey, Aurora
Male Rival Encounters
Corrections: All dogs are
required to be on leash in
Nebraska state parks for
the safety of park guests; a
photo at Branched Oak SRA
misrepresented this regulation
in the June 2023 issue.
We regret the error.
Send your comments and
photos to:
Jeff Kurrus, Editor
Nebraskaland Magazine
P.O. Box 30370
Lincoln, NE 68503
or email Jeff.Kurrus@Nebraska.gov
Please include your postal address
and telephone number. Letters
may be condensed and edited.
Photographs are also welcome.
Pam Whisenhunt, Lincoln
Storm Rolling North of Lincoln
10
Nebraskaland • July 2023
July 2023 •
Nebraskaland
11
IN THE FIELD
PINE RIDGE COMET
Comet NEOWISE over
Saddle Rock and
Red Cloud Buttes at
Fort Robinson State Park
in Dawes County.
JUST
US IN HAAG,
G NEB
NEBRASK
RAS ALAN
LAND
D
12
Nebraskaland • July 2023
July 2023 •
Nebraskaland
13
IN THE FIELD
At dusk, anglers converge at the boat ramp at Olive Creek State Recreation Area in Lancaster County.
ERIC FOWLER, NEBRASKALAND
BOATING ETIQUETTE
By Jeff Kurrus and Shawna Richter-Ryerson
Boating is always pleasurable —
until it’s not. During these unfortunate
moments, the problems in question
usually come down to etiquette. Is
the other boater using good manners?
More importantly, are you a good
example of what these manners
should look like?
Start here to learn how to make
more friends at the boat ramp and on
the water.
At the Ramp
Get on the water and get out.
The boat ramp is an area to launch
a boat, not move supplies from your
vehicle to the boat, rig rods or have
a conversation with a person on the
dock.
Give Ample Space
Offering significant space to others
is paramount to a pleasurable outing
14
Nebraskaland • July 2023
for all. Weigh on the cautious side
when crossing a waterbody; you never
know when you missed seeing that
second tuber who fell off way before
the one you do see. The same is true
of passing anglers; pass hundreds of
yards away to keep from ruining a
productive fishing spot.
Parking
Do the right thing before you get
on the water. Please don’t leave your
vehicle in a spot that compromises
someone else’s ability to get on the
water or park. If you’re not pulling
a boat with a trailer, don’t park in
the spots specifically designated for
trailers.
Sound Travels
Some of my fondest times on the
water include music. Those who do
this correctly keep their tunes at a
decibel level that doesn’t interrupt the
free time of a neighboring boater.
Anchoring Up
The first boat sets the precedent,
so eye up others to know where to
toss your anchor, how much line you
should use and how much space you
should leave between boats.
Don’t Litter
If it was in your boat to start with,
pack it out. Don’t throw your trash,
banana peels, cans, fishing line, worms
or other goods overboard.
Be Polite
Every
boat
angler,
skier,
wakeboarder or kayaker has one thing
in common: They love to have fun on
the water. So, embrace the community
and share a nod, a brief wave or a smile
as you pass.
IN THE FIELD
Using a gun cradle helps steady the shooter and limits the use of costly ammo.
JEFF KURRUS, NEBRASKALAND
LESS AMMO ON THE RANGE
By Jeff Kurrus
Some of us like to shoot guns. We
look forward to the activity, save
money for it, and we definitely don’t
see dollar signs disappearing every
time a cartridge is ejected. Yet there
are others who pay attention to the
rising cost of ammo prices, sweating
each time a bullet leaves the barrel.
If you fit in the latter group, pay
attention to these tips when getting
your scopes locked in for hunting
season. Sighting in a firearm quickly and
accurately will conserve ammunition.
Bore-sight
This an age-old, do-it-by-eye
method that calls for centering a
target through a rifle’s open bore while
simultaneously centering the same
target through the scope. Laser bore
sighters can help.
16
Nebraskaland • July 2023
Start Close
There is no need to line up a rifle at
100 yards to start. Twenty-five yards
makes much more sense, both for
speed as well as saving a few bucks on
ammo in the beginning.
Make a Cradle
While leaning against a vehicle or
even resting the rifle on a table will
help a shooter line up a rifle, creating a
wooden cradle is an easy DIY project.
When shooting with your rifle in the
cradle, this device keeps you and the
gun steady, which ensures maximum
accuracy.
Making the Cradle
1. Using ¼ to ½ plywood or strand
board, create a stable base.
2. Cut two vertical boards and create
two grooves so that the gun you
shoot will rest comfortably with
the trigger housing outside of the
boards.
3. Use L brackets to connect the
base to the vertical boards.
4. Glue carpet or use self-adhesive
rubber strips for the notches. Add
carpet or rubber strips underneath
for even more stability. You can
also use a couple old socks filled
with sand in the notches to raise
or lower the front or back of the
firearm.
Depending on the rifle’s dimensions,
the spacing on the slats can be
adjusted. You’re simply looking for
stability when lining up a rifle, both
for the game you’re pursuing as well as
the pocketbook you’re carrying.
IN THE FIELD
Fried bluegill crusted with Italian bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese.
JENNY NGUYEN-WHEATLEY, NEBRASKALAND
PARMESAN-CRUSTED BLUEGILL
By Jenny Nguyen-Wheatley
Here’s a summer fish recipe that will work with
just about any fish in Nebraska, with the exception
of trout. The Parmesan and bread crumb coating is
light, salty and cheesy — a welcome change from all
the beer batter and cornmeal you’ve probably eaten
this summer.
Enjoy this Parmesan-crusted bluegill with a zesty
salad. The balsamic-vinegar tossed greens, shown
above, goes well with the flavor of Parmesan. Or, if
eating greens isn’t your speed, you could always fall
back on fries. In either case, cold beer applies.
Servings: 2
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
8 bluegill fillets
1
⁄3 cup of Progresso Italian-style bread crumbs
Heaping 1⁄8 cup of grated Parmesan cheese, plus
extra
1 egg
1 tablespoon of milk
1
⁄4 cup of all-purpose flour
•
•
•
•
•
•
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Nebraskaland • July 2023
• Canola or vegetable oil for frying
• Salad greens for two
• Small handful of cherry or grape
•
•
tomatoes,
halved
Balsamic vinaigrette, to taste
Salt, to taste
1. In a wide bowl, combine bread crumbs and
cheese. In a second bowl, beat 1 egg with milk until
egg whites are no longer visible. In a third bowl, add
flour. In a frying pan, heat about 1⁄2 inch of oil to 325
degrees Fahrenheit. Meanwhile, coat bluegill fillets in
this order: flour—shaking off excess, egg and bread
crumbs. Lay coated fish on a cookie sheet while oil
comes to temperature.
2. When oil reaches about 325 degrees, carefully
add the coated fish. Do not crowd the pan — fry in
batches if needed. Fry until golden and then flip to
fry the other side. Drain fried fish on paper towels and
season with salt to taste.
3. Add salad greens to a mixing bowl and toss
with balsamic vinaigrette, tomatoes and Parmesan
cheese. Serve immediately with warm fish.
July 2023 •
Nebraskaland
19
Campfire
Therapy
By Eric Fowler
20
Nebraskaland • July 2023
July 2023•
Nebraskaland
21
he flames dance. The coals glow. The wood crackles and
pops. The combination of these elements is mesmerizing.
It is therapy.
Sit there alone and stare into a campfire’s depths, and you
can’t help but relax as the warmth melts your worries away.
Sit around a fire with friends or family, and you can rehash
old times, solve the world’s problems and make future plans.
In Boy Scouts, it was the perfect setting for telling ghost
stories. Build a bigger one, invite more friends and you can call
it a bonfire.
The campfire functions the same in the dead of winter or the
heat of summer. The only difference is that during the former,
you stay closer to the flames, turning repeatedly, as if on a
rotisserie, always keeping one side warm. During the latter, a
fire can fight off the evening chill, or warm you up while you
drink your morning coffee. But not even the hottest summer
night can negate the need for a fire.
You don’t have to go camping to enjoy a fire. And a campfire
isn’t required when camping. But it should be. It is to many,
myself included, one of the absolute best parts. N
T
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Nebraskaland • July 2023
PREVIOUS PAGES: ERIC FOWLER, NEBRASKALAND
TOP: Claire and Jeff Valder; Chris,
Annika, Stephanie and Daniel
Kuchar; Leslie and Travis Pillen and
Kyle Eley relax around a campfire
at Wagon Train Lake in Lancaster
County.
ERIC FOWLER, NEBRASKALAND
TOP RIGHT: Nothing goes better with
a campfire than marshmallows.
ERIC FOWLER, NEBRASKALAND
BOTTOM RIGHT: Stars fill the sky
above a backcountry campsite at
Indian Cave State Park in Richardson
County.
ERIC FOWLER, NEBRASKALAND
July 2023•
Nebraskaland
23
TOP LEFT: Tammy and Scott Wiebe,
their dog Brandi, and Pat Goracke,
all of Lincoln, relax around their
campfire at Indian Cave State Park
in Richardson County.
ERIC FOWLER, NEBRASKALAND
BOTTOM LEFT: Kids gather around
an igloo campfire in Sarpy County.
JEFF KURRUS, NEBRASKALAND
TOP RIGHT: Eli, Jeff, Laura and
Maddie Kurrus create a backyard
camping evening in Sarpy County.
JEFF KURRUS, NEBRASKALAND
BOTTOM RIGHT: The night before
the hunt, Cole Beyke from Laurel,
Will Beyke from Ida Grove and
Keith Craig from Diller talk around
the campfire at Toadstool Geologic
Park in Sioux County. EMILY BURCH
24
Nebraskaland • July 2023
July 2023•
Nebraskaland
25
Outdoor Nebraska
What To Do in July
By Renae Blum
July is Nebraska’s hottest month, and despite the heat,
there are plenty of reasons to get outdoors and have fun.
Try fishing, visiting a state park or floating a water trail!
N
Ready your hunting
equipment
Throughout the month | Statewide
Celebrate the
Fourth of July at
a state park
Statewide
While there’s not much hunting
happening right now, summer is a good
time to organize your hunting equipment
for fall. Set aside some time to repair,
clean and organize your gear; you’ll be
glad you did.
JENNY NGUYEN-WHEATLEY, NEBRASKALAND
A Nebraska state park is the
ideal place to celebrate the
Fourth. Bring the family and
enjoy an afternoon of grilling,
swimming, fishing and camping.
Don’t forget the s’mores! Visit
OutdoorNebraska.gov to learn
about fireworks restrictions at
the parks and park events.
Fish for largemouth bass at
Kramper Lake
JUSTIN HAAG, NEBRASKALAND
All month | Danish Alps State Recreation Area
Kramper Lake is a new reservoir, and it’s just at that age where fish
populations are at their peak. So the fishing at Kramper is excellent
right now — and that includes largemouth bass. Topwater baits,
particularly scum frogs, are a good choice; throw some out early and
late in the day. JEFF KURRUS, NEBRASKALAND
Float a water trail
All month | Statewide
Summer is a perfect time to float Nebraska’s
water trails. It’s a great way to relax,
clear your mind, get some fresh air, view
wildlife and make connections with friends
and family. Find interactive maps and
additional information to plan your trip at
OutdoorNebraska.gov.
ERIC FOWLER, NEBRASKALAND
Fort Atkinson Living
History: Fourth of July
Celebration
July 1-2, 10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Fort Atkinson State Historical Park
Travel 200 years back in time for Fourth of
July weekend at Fort Atkinson. Visitors will
be able to glimpse the holiday activities that
would have taken place at this 1820s-era
outpost and see reenactors portray military
and civilian life. Learn more at
Calendar.OutdoorNebraska.gov.
JENNY NGUYEN-WHEATLEY, NEBRASKALAND
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Nebraskaland • July 2023
July 2023 •
Nebraskaland
27
An Outdoor
Staycation
Summit Lake State Recreation Area
Photos and story by Jenny Nguyen-Wheatley
Boaters fish at Summit Lake State
Recreation Area near Tekamah.
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Nebraskaland
• July 2023
July 2023 •
Nebraskaland
29
S
et down camp on lush, green lawns and
manicured campsites. Drop a line from
a picture-worthy fishing pier, or slowly
work your way across a no-wake lake
inside a boat. Then at the end of the day, sit
back with a drink to watch the golden light sink
below the glistening lake at your feet — it’s
like you’ve arrived in paradise without having
to hop onto a plane. Find these comforts and
more at Summit Lake State Recreation Area
near Tekamah, where metro-area Nebraskans
can have their summer family getaway just a
relatively short drive from home.
Summit Lake SRA is a great place to land,
whether you’re a yearlong planner, weekend
warrior or a pick-up-and-go adventurer.
Campers can snag one of the park’s 33 firstcome, first-served basic campsites or 43
electric campsites, half of which can be
reserved in advance. Those wishing to stay
longer will appreciate the modern, centrallylocated shower house. And families with
young children will love the newly-built
playground.
The 190-acre lake offers bountiful fishing,
with crappie, bluegill, bass, catfish and
walleye in its waters. And hopefully with
spring and summer rains, the park’s swimming
beach will return to its former glory; to remove
sediment, a lake renovation in 2022 required
part of Summit Lake to be drained, said
park superintendent Jordan Swenson. Two
serviceable boat ramps allow for no-wake
boating.
Hikers, cyclists and horseback riders will
enjoy the surrounding 345 acres of gently
rolling land. New this year, the park’s former
two miles of multi-use trail has been extended
to nearly 10 miles, thanks to the Nebraska
Trailriders Association who spearheaded the
project. Another amenity: Bowhunters can
keep up with practice at the archery range.
Finally, after a full day outdoors, head back
to camp to enjoy a meal by the fire or take
advantage of the park’s 73 picnic tables, 64
grills and two picnic shelters. Or, if you don’t
feel like cooking, visit Way North Restaurant
and Lounge, which you can’t miss, as the
restaurant picturesquely overlooks the lake on
County Road G.
Summit Lake SRA is the staycation you
wish you knew about sooner. N
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Nebraskaland
• July 2023
TOP LEFT: No-wake boating is permitted on Summit Lake State Recreation
Area near Tekamah. Hungry park visitors can enjoy food and drink at Way
North Restaurant and Lounge across the road.
BOTTOM LEFT: The same view of Summit Lake from several steps back on the
jetty reveals plenty of room for multiple bank anglers.
TOP RIGHT: Elton Jones of Fort Calhoun RV camps with his dog.
BOTTOM RIGHT: Elizabeth Wheatley of Omaha enjoys the new playground
at Summit Lake SRA. The playground was made possible by the Burt County
Economic Development, Tekamah Area Community Committee, Tekamah
Community Foundation and Donald E Nielsen Foundation Inc.
July 2023 •
Nebraskaland
31
TOP LEFT: Summit Lake SRA offers 43 electric campsites, half of which can
be reserved. The park also has 33 basic campsites, which are first-come,
first-served.
Summit Lake SRA
BOTTOM LEFT: The golden light of sunset illuminates the fishing pier.
TOP RIGHT: Brett and Chris Naber RV camp with their dog, adding an
outdoor rug to make their staycation even more comfortable.
BOTTOM RIGHT: Summit Lake attracts a plethora of migrating waterfowl,
including these American white pelicans in early spring.
32
Nebraskaland
• July 2023
Summit Lake State Recreation Area is a
190-acre lake, surrounded by 345 acres
of land. The area offers fishing, hiking,
hunting, swimming and camping,
among other activities.
July 2023 •
Nebraskaland
33
Neligh
Mill at
150
By David L. Bristow,
History Nebraska
N
eligh Mill, in the northeastern
Nebraska town of Neligh, is a
place where the past doesn’t
feel all that long ago — as if
the mill workers have gone for coffee
and will be back shortly. The 19th
century machinery is still in place, and
longtime site supervisor Harv Ofe can
tell you how it all worked. Yellowed
notices and posters adorn the walls,
and penciled graffiti shows the math
of long-ago transactions and the dates
of noteworthy local weather.
John Neligh began building the
water-powered mill in 1873. Another
local businessman completed the work
and opened the mill the following
year. Neligh Mill operated for nearly
a century before becoming a state
historical site maintained by History
Nebraska.
Humans have been grinding grain
into flour for thousands of years, mostly
by hand. The oldest known mortars and
pestles date to about 35,000 B.C. The
use of millstones — also known as burrs
— in water-powered gristmills dates
back more than 2,000 years.
34
Nebraskaland • July 2023
High water in 1914.
HISTORY NEBRASKA, RG3551-0-95
July 2023 •
Nebraskaland
35
Neligh Mill and its original “brush dam,” circa 1884.
Neligh Mill, in other words, is
based on ancient technology that
was refined over the centuries. But it
also reflects the rapid technological
HISTORY NEBRASKA, RG3551-0-5
advances of the 19th and early 20th
centuries as well as the unpredictable
nature of the meandering, flood-prone
Elkhorn River.
Using water power meant building
a dam that was tall enough to have
adequate “water head” — the height
of water backed up behind the dam.
The water was diverted into a flume
where it turned a turbine that powered
the mill.
Early photos show water pouring
over a brush dam, a crude type of dam
made by anchoring piles of brush with
pilings and covering it with earth and
rocks. Such dams were prone to being
washed out by high water.
Neligh Mill replaced its brush dam
with a concrete-based frame dam in
1903. The new dam was both stronger
and taller, powering ever more
machinery inside the mill and even
providing power for the town’s first
electrical grid.
But there was no taming the Elkhorn
River, which was prone to floods, ice
jams and burrowing muskrats that
undermined dikes and dams. After a
flood in 1915, the mill installed a large
Would you cross the rickety
suspension bridge over the dam? Circa
1915 photo. HISTORY NEBRASKA, RG2836-0-1599
Starting in the mid-1880s, roller mills replaced millstones — also known as burrs —
and sped up the milling process. HISTORY NEBRASKA
Stacks of Gold Medal flour in 1909.
General Mills bought exclusive rights
to the Gold Medal name in 1940.
HISTORY NEBRASKA, RG3551-0-29
The 1903 dam was stronger and taller to provide more power for the mill.
HISTORY NEBRASKA, RG3551-0-17
Neligh Mill employees in 1911 with bags of So-Lite flour, one of several brands the mill produced.
36
Nebraskaland • July 2023
HISTORY NEBRASKA, RG3551-0-26
diesel engine to provide reliable power.
Several years later, mill owners tried
to return to water power, but gave up
after a flood in 1920.
Meanwhile, new technology was
changing the process of milling
itself. After two millennia, the use
of millstones became obsolete in the
1880s with the invention of steel
roller mills. The rows of roller mills at
Neligh may look old fashioned today,
but at the time, they represented a big
investment in the latest technology to
greatly increase the mill’s output.
Neligh Mill produced its last
flour in 1959. It continued grinding
livestock feed for another 10 years
before closing entirely. Fortunately
for us, the owners left everything
in place so that the mill could teach
future generations about Nebraska’s
agricultural history. N
The dam is gone, but the flume
remains beside the river, though no
longer connects to it. The wooden
structure at front center is the
headgate, which regulated the flow of
water into the flume. On the right end
of the flume is the penstock, which
houses the turbine. The big flywheel
was connected by a long belt to
another wheel inside the basement.
HISTORY NEBRASKA
Visit History Nebraska’s website at
history.nebraska.gov.
July 2023 •
Nebraskaland
37
Catfishing the Niobrara
One Man’s Lifetime of Fishing
By Gerry Steinauer, Botanist
Max explored on foot and horseback, trapped beaver and
aul Allen’s rugged, weather-worn appearance has been
muskrats, hunted ducks in spring-fed backwaters and, of
earned from decades of running cattle on the Niobrara
course, fished for channel catfish in the river.
River breaks of Boyd County. In line with his cowboy
Max taught his little brother the ways of the river, how
persona, his manner is down-home and friendly, his
to rig his pole and bait his hook with nightcrawlers and
laugh is hearty, and he slides easily into storytelling. Yet,
grasshoppers. “We tried to catch the great big lubbers,”
there are contradictions to the cowboy stereotype: His
Allen said, referring to the Plains lubber, also known as the
past includes stints as an elementary school teacher and
homesteader, Nebraska’s largest
Peace Corps volunteer; in a land
grasshopper and quite a mouthful
of beer and whiskey drinkers,
for a catfish.
he prefers Cabernet Sauvignon;
“As fishermen, we didn’t know
and his passion is catfishing
what we were doing, but we weren’t
the Niobrara.
fishing for sport, we were fishing
Raised on his family ranch that
for something to eat,” Allen said. “I
stretches for more than 4 miles
guess there was some sport to it. I
along the Niobrara’s north bank,
remember Max crying once when
Allen began fishing as a toddler,
he let a big cat slip out of his hands.”
willow pole in hand, eyes glued
In their household, catfish was
to a bobber. He soon advanced to
standard table fare. “Pancakes and
running setlines with his older
a little fried catfish were a treat
brother, Max, and, as a highfor breakfast. Max’s birthday was
schooler, fishing with rod and reel.
April 15, and mom always hoped for
Their ranch was located a few miles
an early spring catfish bite and for
downstream from Spencer Dam,
snow to linger in the deep ravines so
and unbeknownst to the boys,
she could make fish and ice cream
they were casting their bait into
for his party.” She floured and fried
exceptional catfishing waters.
the skinned fish in oil, which is how
After high school, Allen left the
Allen prefers them to this day.
Niobrara for other adventures, but
The brothers also ran setlines.
returned a few years later to run
Paul Allen, at age 7 in 1951, shows off one of
In summer, they prayed for rain
the ranch. He then began to refine
his first catfish while standing in the family
so their dad would free them from
his catfishing skills and now, as
farmyard with the Niobrara River in the
working in the hay fields. “We
he approaches his 80th birthday,
background. PHOTO COURTESY OF PAUL ALLEN
would run down to the river to
he is still wrangling cats from the
catch grass [northern leopard] frogs and toads for setline bait,
braided prairie stream.
or we would use chicken guts if we had recently butchered,”
Allen said. They scrounged most of their setline tackle from
around the home place, cutting flexible willow stems from
riverside thickets for poles, scrounging broken iron from the
Allen was “a spring calf,” born in 1944. As a child living 7
farmyard for weights and pilfering old chalk line from the
miles of dirt road from the nearest town, the Niobrara River
shop. They bought hooks in town.
and its surroundings were his main entertainment. He and
P
Childhood Fishing
38
Nebraskaland • July 2023
Allen stands in the doorway of his shop.
Their method of setlining on the sand-bottomed Niobrara
remains the standard to this day. They pushed the poles into
the river bank or shallow water above a deep channel or hole,
letting the line drift into the deeper water where weights
pulled the bait to the bottom. They avoided fast currents, as
there the lines would “sand in.” Through setlining, the boys
learned to read the river’s depth and speed from the texture
GERRY STEINAUER, NEBRASKALAND
of the surface water. This was especially important for Allen,
who could not swim.
They baited their lines after supper and checked them
early in the morning before chores or school. Although rather
unskilled pole fisherman due to their primitive tackle, the
boys were adept setliners, catching most of their catfish,
including lunkers weighing up to 12 pounds, this way.
July 2023 •
Nebraskaland
39
Allen holds an old baitcasting rod and reel with which he caught countless channel catfish from the Niobrara.
GERRY STEINAUER, NEBRASKALAND
Leaving the Niobrara
When Allen graduated from high school in 1962, his
parents gave him $100, a saddle and a suit. Leaving home, he
worked summers on western Nebraska ranches and attended
Wayne State College during the school year. At Wayne, he
took classes for two and half years until flunking a required
statistics class, killing his dream of earning a business degree.
He then attended Chadron State College for a year and
earned a teaching degree. After graduation, he taught at a
Sandhills country school with five students for a year and
elementary school in Henry for two years. During his time
out west, Allen rode the weekend rodeo circuit to earn a few
extra bucks until a hard kick in the face by a bucking bronco
left a scar and knocked enough sense into him to give up the
business.
In 1969, Allen married his first wife, Diane. She had grown
up in a ranch house located in the shadows of Spencer Dam
and had been friends with Allen since childhood. A year after
their marriage, fulfilling a desire to help others, they joined
the Peace Corps, spending two years in Venezuela teaching
Spanish-speaking residents how to speak English and
helping them improve their farming practices, the latter of
which mostly failed. “No matter what you try, you just can’t
grow alfalfa in Venezuela,” Allen said with a laugh.
After the Peace Corps, the couple moved into Allen’s
childhood home on the Niobrara, his parents having moved
into town. “By then, the old house wasn’t much more than a
shack,” Allen said. “There were bees living in the walls and we
had no well.” They hauled drinking water in five-gallon cream
cans from an artesian spring that flowed into the river. Five
years later, Allen built a new house low on the bluff, something
he had promised his bride when they got married. They would
raise four children there. Diane passed away in 1991.
bank, while the remainder of the dam — a 3,200-foot-long,
26-foot-tall earthen bank — spanned the valley bottom.
As the swift-flowing Niobrara pooled behind the dam, sand
settled out of its slowed waters and over time formed a huge
delta. Meanwhile, the clear, sand-free water exiting the dam
was highly erosive and scoured deep channels and holes in
the river downstream, including Allen’s stretch. In addition,
the dam blocked the migration of catfish moving out of the
Missouri and up the Niobrara during their late-spring and
early-summer spawning run, and they stockpiled below the
dam. In a nutshell, Spencer Dam gifted Allen with deep,
stable waters teeming with hungry cats.
Over the decades, Allen fished these waters almost
exclusively during the cool evening when catfish most
actively feed. “I start fishing after supper, usually about 6
o’clock, and leave the river before midnight,” he said. “The
peak bite is usually about 10 o’clock and trails off after that.
In early spring, you can get by fishing during the day, but
not during the heat of summer. On a summer day, you might
catch a cat or two from a hole, but that’s about it.”
His best fishing has always been during the spawning run
when catfish are on the move and hungry. During the heat of
late summer, the fish become less active, and the bite slows.
Allen suspects that many fish move down into the deeper
and cooler Missouri River during this period. As temperatures
drop in September, fish move back up the Niobrara and the
Allen’s mother, Gertrude, holds a stringer of three nice
catfish and a sucker Allen and his brother, Max, caught on
setlines in the mid-1950s. PHOTO COURTESY OF PAUL ALLEN
Refining His Craft
CHANNEL CATFISH (Ictalurus punctatus) are North America’s
most numerous catfish species. They are also the official
fish of Nebraska. Shown are male top, female bottom.
ARTWORK BY JOSEPH TOMELLERI
40
Nebraskaland • July 2023
Back on the Niobrara, Allen began to refine his angling
skills, and fishing downstream of Spencer Dam, he was doing
so in catfisherman heaven.
Built in 1927 for hydroelectric power generation, Spencer
Dam was located 39 miles upstream from the Niobrara’s
confluence with the Missouri River. The powerhouse and 500
foot-long concrete spillway jutted out from the river’s north
A bundle of Allen’s old setlines, rigged with hooks and cast cement weights, age in a corner of his shop.
GERRY STEINAUER, NEBRASKALAND
July 2023 •
Nebraskaland
41
A 2017 aerial photo shows Spencer Dam looking westward. The dam’s cement spillway is located on the right while its earthen
bank extends to the left. Sand carried downstream by the Niobrara River has settled out of the still water and filled the
former lake behind the dam. The clear water flowing out of the dam carried little sand and was highly erosive, scouring deep
holes in the river channel downstream. ERIC FOWLER, NEBRASKALAND
An aerial photo captured in June 2019 looking eastward shows Spencer Dam and the U.S. Highway 281 bridge that were both
destroyed by the catastrophic March 2019 flood. With the dam no longer interrupting its flow, the Niobrara River now carries a
heavy sand load and has filled many of Allen’s longtime fishing holes along his ranch 5 miles downriver. ERIC FOWLER, NEBRASKALAND
bite picks up again.
No matter the time of the year, Allen always fishes from a
sandbar or the bank, never wading out into the river. “Catfish
are smart. If you disturb the water or make noise, they know
something is up and they’ll stop biting,” he said. His favorite
fishing spot is a hole that formed below a chalk-rock ledge
exposed in the river. “Before Spencer Dam went out, I could
catch my fill of 5-pound catfish there,” he said. “It was easy.”
The biggest cat Allen ever landed on rod and reel, an 8-pound
fish, came from that hole. He has hooked bigger catfish, but
fighting with the current, these fish usually break the line
or straighten the hook and escape. From the rock-bottomed
hole, he occasionally catches sauger, the river-inhabiting
cousin of the walleye, but only when fishing in September
and when using nightcrawlers as bait.
In addition to nightcrawlers, Allen sometimes baited his
hook with chicken intestines, preferring them to chicken
livers, a common catfish bait, saying “they have more stink.”
About 15 years ago, however, he switched to shad guts as his
go-to catfish bait, and now buys them by the case in frozen
pint jars. “The gizzard in the guts is really tough and when
hooked through it, they stay on, and they really stink!” he
said. “Fish can smell them from a long way downriver, and
they really come after them.”
Allen usually fishes alone. Until recently, a few times each
summer, he enjoyed the companionship of two longtime
friends with whom he would run setlines throughout the
trapped in paneled pens on the edge of the riverbottom: The
gates were open, but the cows would not go through the deep,
fast-moving water to get to them. Allen and his daughterin-law, Kari, struggled to open the gate of one pen located
in only knee-deep water, but its bottom was frozen in mud.
He hurried to a shed for a handyman jack and, standing in
ice-cold water and with tears in their eyes, they pried the
gate out of the mud to free 60 cows. They were left to watch
helplessly as 80 head in other pens drowned.
By evening, the floodwaters had receded, leaving ice,
logs, brush and miscellaneous trash scattered across the
riverbottom. Along with the debris, a thick layer of “powder
sand” coated Allen’s previously rich hay meadow. Parked
in the bottom, his tractors, a caterpillar, combines and new
pickup were ice-dented and waterlogged, mostly ruined.
He later salvaged the caterpillar and a couple tractors by
flushing their engines with oil and making other repairs,
but now questions the effort. “It cost me $10,000 to fix one
tractor worth $7,500. Does that make sense?” he said. It took
his son, Nyal, weeks to pile the logs and trash in the meadow
for burning. Allen considers himself lucky that he hadn’t
built his house on the floodplain.
His brother-in-law, Kenny Angel, who ran Angels’ Straw
Bale Saloon located on the floodplain just below the dam,
lacked Allen’s luck and encountered tragedy that night: His
house near the saloon was washed away by the flood waters,
his body never found. Allen said that Angel’s pickup, tractors
42
Nebraskaland • July 2023
night and wearily clean their catch after sunrise. Both of
these friends, however, passed away, and “getting up and
down the river bank to check lines just got too hard on this
old timer,” Allen said. “I stopped running setlines.”
Allen’s catfishing had changed, and it was about to do so
again in dramatic fashion.
The Night Spencer Dam Burst
On March 13, 2019, a rare bomb cyclone dropped more than
two inches of rain over northeastern Nebraska, melting the
foot of snow that covered the region. Unable to soak into the
frozen soil, the water rushed down feeder streams into rivers
throughout the region. The iced-covered Niobrara rose to
historic levels, the river ice breaking free in chunks as large
as pickups. The torrent of water and ice swept away highway
bridges as if they were built of old barn siding, and then
gathered behind Spencer Dam. In the early morning hours
of March 14, the dam could bear no more, and the earthen
bank breached in two spots, sending an 11-foot-high wall of
mayhem cascading downstream.
Allen and his second wife, Lana, were awakened by a
phone call from his son, Cody, saying the dam had broken.
Allen rushed outside and was startled to see water just 15
feet below their house. “When daylight came, I could see the
mess we were in,” he said.
His first concern was his cattle. The panicked animals were
and campers have also never been found, and likely lie buried
deep under sand. Recently, he found the toolbox from Angel’s
pickup on his ranch; it had been exposed by river cutting.
A Changed River
With Spencer Dam no longer interrupting its flow and
hijacking its sand load, the lower Niobrara once again
functions as a natural, braided prairie stream. The river is
now wider with constantly-shifting sandbars, pools, riffles
and runs. The deep, stable holes Allen once fished no longer
exist. “It’s a different river. It changes so fast,” he said.
In addition, migrating catfish, as well as other river fish,
are now free to keep swimming upstream, and no longer
stockpile below the now-breached dam. For Allen, this
means that there are fewer catfish to catch, but on the flip
side, those fishing upstream of the dam have more.
Despite the changes to the Niobrara, Allen has few
complaints. While he is no longer pulling big cats hand over
fist from his rock-ledge honeyhole, his fishing is still good
overall. Since the dam breached, the main river channel has
swung away from the ledge, and the hole is shallower. But
Allen still fishes it. “I’ll be there next summer,” he said. N
Gerry Steinauer is a botanist for the Nebraska Game and
Parks Commission. He has been writing and photographing for
Nebraskaland Magazine since 1990.
July 2023 •
Nebraskaland
43
The Last Relic
By Eric Fowler
oulda, coulda, shoulda.
Our lives can be full of them.
The story of one of mine began in 1999, the first
time I visited Niobrara State Park. From the hilltop
overlooking the Niobrara River, I could see a rooftop poking
out of the trees in the riverbottom.
I was told it was the picnic shelter in the old park, the one
that opened in 1935 and was closed when the park moved to
its current location in 1987. I told myself I’d hike out and see
it someday, and said the same thing every other time I saw
the shelter, be it from that hilltop or from the window of a
Cessna on an aerial photo assignment.
Someday.
W
The story of Niobrara Island State Park began in 1889,
when citizens of Niobrara who settled in 1856 successfully
petitioned Congress to set aside a tract of land on the west
side of the Niobrara River for a park. The small stream on
the west side of the tract is what put “island” in the park’s
name. The origin of that stream is unclear. Some reports say
Mormons who settled there in 1846 or ’47 dug it, diverting
water from the Niobrara River to power a mill. Others say it
was just a small side channel of the Niobrara. Whatever the
case, it remains known as the Mormon Canal today.
A clubhouse was built, but interest in the park waned, and
in 1930, residents of the village voted to donate the land to
the Nebraska Game, Forestation and Parks Commission,
the precursor to Nebraska Game and Parks. Picnic grounds
and a 9-hole golf course were built, and fish were stocked
in the ponds. “Where the sky is blue and the earth is wide
and there’s lots of fish by the riverside” read a headline atop
a story on improvements being made at the park in the
An unidentified man kicks back with a book and cigar while fishing across the lagoon from the shelter sometime prior to 1966.
The lagoon was the centerpiece of the park. LOU ELL, NEBRASKALAND MAGAZINE
The picnic shelter at Niobrara Island State Park was built with massive, hand-hewn timbers and featured a stone fireplace at
one end. COURTESY OF NIOBRARA MUSEUM
44
Nebraskaland • July 2023
Niobrara Tribune in 1933.
The Great Depression had already begun, however. With
so many people out of work, President Franklin Delano
Roosevelt in 1933, as part of his New Deal, created the
Civilian Conservation Corps. The work relief program put
nearly 3 million men to work during the nine years it existed.
Among the many jobs they undertook was the construction
of 700 new state parks and roads, trails and shelters at others.
In 1934 and 1935, men from a CCC work camp in Niobrara
built cabins, roads and other amenities at the park, including
the picnic shelter. It was built with massive, hand-hewn
wood posts and beams tied together with curved knee braces,
and a stone fireplace at one end. It differed from shelters
CCC crews built at Ponca and Chadron state parks and Dead
Timber, Walgren Lake and the Wildcat Hills state recreation
areas, iconic stone structures that still stand today.
Now known simply as Niobrara State Park, the park opened
in 1935. An advertisement in Outdoor Nebraska, the precursor
to this magazine, in 1936 dubbed the park “A rest haven in
pleasant surroundings.” A 1944 article in Outdoor Nebraska
said it was built upon a beautiful wooded island of 800 acres,
as “[g]listening white cottages, group camps, administrative
buildings dot the entire area.”
The park’s new picnic shelter stood on the banks of the
lagoon that wound through the park, where visitors could
rent paddleboats, fish and swim. It hosted countless picnics
and events.
“Oh yeah. We had picnics there when school got out. And
we always had a school picnic,” said 92-year-old Delberta
Peterson, a long-time resident of Niobrara, who had memories
July 2023 •
Nebraskaland
45
rained, it protected them. They quickly went to the shelter.”
“I remember a birthday party there … and catching a
baby duck that my mom made me let go,” said Dina Barta of
Lincoln, a Niobrara native and Game and Parks conservation
officer who spent her summers at the park growing up. She
also remembers the store, bringing her pet squirrel there for
visitors to see, selling sweet corn from her pink banana-seat
bike, and visitors signing or carving their names in the log
beams.
Village residents loved the park. “It was a way of life for all
of us,” Barta said. “The park made the town.”
In 1966, people gather to enjoy the picnic shelter that was
located in the park’s original location, before the park was
relocated in the 1980s. NGPC LIBRARY
of Easter sunrise services, local ladies cooking meals for
church camps, long walks, riding paddleboats on the lagoon
and the log cabin store at the old park.
“All the kids thought it was wonderful,” said Marge
Rotherham, whose husband, Vince, was superintendent at
the park. They had four children together there. “When it
Flooding on the Missouri and Niobrara rivers was a
recurring problem for the village and Niobrara State Park.
It forced the town to move in 1881. Another flood, this one
moving much slower, began when Gavins Point Dam was
completed on the Missouri 32 miles downriver from Niobrara
in 1956.
With the Missouri’s water slowed, the sand carried by
the Niobrara began to settle out in both rivers. And with
high spring flows erased by Fort Randall Dam and others
upstream, it stayed, forming a delta, raising the water table
and flooding basements in the village. In the mid-1970s,
the town was relocated to the bluff above the rivers. The
Trail riders and anyone traveling the loop road at Niobrara State Park could easily spot the old shelter in 2007.
ERIC FOWLER, NEBRASKALAND
46
Nebraskaland • July 2023
Following the flood of 2019, the shelter’s roof collapsed and the fireplace toppled.
park remained on the riverbottom for a few more years, but
sedimentation, shifting river channels and the increased
risk of flooding would force its move to the hills west of the
Niobrara in 1987.
From those hills, the old park’s structures remained visible
for years. The cabins, store and paddleboats stayed open for a
year or two. Some of the buildings were relocated, including a
few of the cabins, which found a new home at the Blue Moon
Resort near Verdel. More flooding in 1996 took its toll on the
rest, which were eventually demolished. That flood shifted
most of the Niobrara’s flow into the Mormon Canal and filled
the lagoon and pool with sand. Slowly, signs of the old park
were erased. Eventually, the shelter, the last relic of the old
park, was hidden from view by willows and cottonwoods.
And then 2019 happened. March rains quickly melted
thick snowpack and swelled the frozen Niobrara River,
sending massive blocks of ice downstream. Spencer Dam
breached, sending a wall of ice and water downriver, washing
out Highway 12 between Niobrara and the park, and the old
railroad bridge that served as a trail. Water likely topped the
roof of the shelter by a few feet, and had trees on the island not
deflected the ice, it surely would’ve been swept away. When
the water receded, the roof, covered with sand, collapsed.
That is what I saw from the air in 2019 while documenting
the damage caused by the flood.
I had waited too long.
My “someday” finally came in May of 2021. With nothing
pressing on the schedule, and the peak of mosquito and tick
ERIC FOWLER, NEBRASKALAND
season still ahead, I headed for the park and bushwhacked my
way across what is now Bazile Creek Wildlife Management
Area from the highway to the shelter. I found sand piled
nearly to the rafters, and the fireplace toppled.
I wish I had made that hike sooner. Much sooner. And I
wish I would’ve seen that shelter, and the park, in its heyday,
so I could truly appreciate why the locals continue to have
such fond memories of the place once known as Niobrara
Island. N
An aerial photo from 2017 shows trees that had grown on
the west side of the shelter, roof still intact, obscuring its
view from the park. ERIC FOWLER, NEBRASKALAND
July 2023 •
Nebraskaland
47
Joel Klammer of
Ainsworth holds
a brown trout he
caught on a December
afternoon in Long Pine
Creek at Pine Glen WMA.
Long Pine Creek
Work Improves a Unique Fishery in the Sandhills
Story and photos by Eric Fowler
After flowing east for about 6 miles,
oel Klammer repeatedly casts
Program project designed to improve
it turns north, continuing roughly 20
a woolly bugger fly toward rock
habitat for fish and success for anglers.
miles, as the crow flies, until
structures in Long Pine
it meets the Niobrara River.
Creek and lets it drift
Its winding path stretches
through the deep holes below
33½ miles, coursing through
them. He thinks he sees a fish
a canyon more than a mile
attempting to bite on one drift,
wide and 200 feet deep in
but after 20 minutes, he decides
spots, which is forested with
his first choice of flies wasn’t
ponderosa pines, eastern red
going to cut it on this section of
cedars and oaks — a stark
the creek on Pine Glen Wildlife
contrast to the open range
Management Area. So, he
and cropland surrounding the
reaches into his fly box and ties
canyon.
on a big, brown, rubber-legged
Along the way, the creek
nymph.
winds its way past cabins in
“The water was moving pretty
Hidden Paradise Resort, where
fast. I wanted something bigger
the cool, pristine waters have
to attract their attention,”
drawn vacationers since 1910.
Klammer said. “Those fish have
It continues through Long Pine
to make a decision quick in
State Recreation Area, a popular
that faster water. It’s floating
spot for people to camp, fish and
by pretty quick. It’s no spring
drift down the stream in tubes
creek, where you’re floating
to cool off on a hot summer
your fly down the surface
day. After flowing beneath U.S.
gently for a minute.”
Highway 20, it crosses Long
It was another 20 minutes
Pine Wildlife Management
before that decision paid off,
Area, and 13 stream miles later,
and he landed a brown trout
Pine Glen WMA, both rugged
that topped 10 inches. Forty
A trackhoe installs rock structures in Long Pine Creek
areas that draw anglers and
minutes and a quarter mile
following
work
to
remove
eastern
red
cedar
trees
from
hunters.
upstream later, he landed his
the creekbottom. The Aquatic Habitat Program project
Similar to most of the streams
fourth brown, this one topping
improved habitat for fish and access for anglers.
that feed into the Niobrara
12 inches.
River, Long Pine Creek’s base flow
The one thing each of the fish had in
comes from springs of the Ogallala
common, other than the fly they were
Aquifer. The creek is considered a
caught on, is all were hooked near rock
Class A coldwater stream, where
structures installed in the creek in
Long Pine Creek begins flowing in
temperatures never top 77 degrees,
2019 as part of a Nebraska Game and
a pasture on the edge of the Sandhills
making it cold enough to support trout
Parks Commission Aquatic Habitat
southwest of the town of Long Pine.
J
As the Stream Flows
48
Nebraskaland • July 2023
July 2023 •
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49
notch, scouring holes below them.
Other structures included rock
J-hooks and log formations that
deflected flows away from the bank to
reduce erosion, forcing the stream to
meander more, and boulder clusters in
the middle of the stream.
Combined, the structures were
designed to create current breaks and a
diverse range of velocities and depths,
creating resting and feeding areas for
trout and other native fish species.
There are now more pools with deeper,
slower moving water and riffles with
shallow, swift flows.
Pools can provide the refuge fish
need during low flows in the heat of
the summer and are often where fish
prefer to be in the cold of winter.
“They also make great places for
trout to eat,” said Thad Huenemann,
rivers and streams program manager
with Game and Parks. “Think of the
bugs that are floating through the
system. Once you get to a pool, they
sit there a little bit, and it provides
an opportunity for trout to be able to
munch down on a buffet of critters that
are flowing through the system. And it
allows them to rest because they don’t
have to fight the current so much.”
The boulder clusters in the riffles
serve a similar purpose, providing
refuge from the current where trout
can wait to ambush food in what
Roberg said can be “the food factory of
those systems more times than not.”
Increasing the meandering or
sinuosity of the stream further
diversifies the habitats. Each type of
habitat supports different types of
invertebrates, the aquatic insects trout
live on, at different times of the year.
More Room to Cast
Before work could begin in the
stream at Pine Glen, a path needed
to be cleared to allow the heavy
equipment to get there. The project
began by clearing cedar trees from
26 acres of pine forest above the
creek and in oak woodlands on the
creekbottom. Some cedars were
present here when the Commission
acquired the 960-acre area in 1973, but
the opportunistic invaders had since
filled nearly every opening they could
find in the canyon, and simply getting
to the creek to fish was a challenge.
Green ash trees in fall color contrast the ponderosa pine and cedar forest that fills the picturesque, mile-wide canyon that
rises 200 feet above Long Pine Creek.
even in the heat of summer. It runs
clear, other than when rainfall washes
in sediment. It is full of oxygen,
supporting the mayflies, caddis flies
and other aquatic life, and contains
gravel beds on which trout can spawn:
the same features you might find in a
trout stream in Colorado. As such, it is
one of the top trout waters in the state,
with self-sustaining populations of
both rainbow and brown trout.
The creek’s value for fish, wildlife
and recreation are why it was the first
water in Nebraska to gain an instream
flow right from the state’s Department
of Natural Resources. Granted to the
Commission in 1989, the right helps
ensure flows will be sufficient to
sustain trout year round.
Growing Bigger Fish
Long Pine Creek flows lazily through
Long Pine SRA. In the mid-1990s, the
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Nebraskaland • July 2023
Commission installed wood lunker
structures in the stream there to
both create bank line habitat and
prevent erosion. Aside from occasional
maintenance, the structures have
stood the test of time. Biologists
sample more fish, both stocked and
wild rainbow trout and wild brown
trout, in that reach of stream than all
but one other in the state.
By the time the stream reaches Pine
Glen WMA, it has gained flows and
velocity, and there is less in-stream
habitat to hold fish. Fisheries biologists
saw an opportunity to use the Aquatic
Habitat Program to improve a reach
of the stream there to benefit fish and
anglers.
“We recognized that Pine Glen
WMA was a good candidate because
it’s somewhat secluded and with less
harvest, it might allow us to grow
some bigger fish with some additional
habitat structures,” said Brett Roberg,
a Commission stream biologist.
The work was modeled after another
project completed on Nine Mile Creek
in Scotts Bluff County, which boasts
the highest density of trout in the
state. When work similar to that was
also done on a private stretch of the
creek upstream from Pine Glen, “the
trout literally moved into those habitat
features almost immediately after we
built them,” Roberg said.
The in-stream habitat work focused
on two straight runs that, combined,
covered 1,800 feet and offered little
variation in depth and habitat types.
An excavator was used to place
boulders in and along the stream,
creating nine different types of
structures, 38 in all. The largest were
cross-vane weirs, V-shaped structures
pointing upstream with a notch at the
tip, and weirs running straight across
the stream, also with a notch. Both
concentrated the flows through the
Water spills over two of the rock structures installed in Long Pine Creek at Pine Glen WMA, creating deep pools below.
July 2023 •
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51
reasons for the discrepancy and that
things will improve.
Flows in Long Pine Creek have, for
the most part, been above normal
since 2018, even during the severe
drought in 2022. Those conditions
make it much more difficult to sample
trout, which during normal or below
normal flows can be concentrated in a
few holes and easy to catch.
So, it is likely there are more fish in
this reach than biologists are able to
sample. It is also possible that, while
trout populations are fine upstream
at Long Pine SRA, many were flushed
out of the lower reaches of the stream
where flows were the highest. That
is what occurred in some sections of
the Big Thompson River in Colorado
during flooding in 2014. In one reach,
the trout population declined by 85
percent. Roberg said biologists there
have told him that fishery has since
recovered, and it may take time for
Long Pine Creek to do the same.
Huenemann said biologists who
work on stream enhancement projects
in other states have told him that
while some work produces instant
results, which is what managers and
anglers hope for, sometimes it takes
years and multiple generations of fish
to establish a thriving population.
Additionally, the stream is still
evolving. “We went in there and
disrupted things, and the system
is still trying to balance out,” said
Huenemann.
Measurements taken when the
project was completed and the two
years that followed found the depth
to be increasing and the velocity
decreasing in the pools below the
new structures. Those changes are
expected to stabilize.
With no breaks in the current prior
to the project, there was no water
buttercup, elodea or other aquatic
Nebraska Game and Parks Commission fisheries biologists Thad Huenemann, Joe Spooner, Brett Roberg and Zach Horstman
use an electrofishing barge to sample fish in Long Pine Creek.
“It was rough,” said Roberg.
The clearing also gave anglers more
room to cast, and made it easier for
them to get from one spot to another.
Opening the forest on the floodplain
also helped lessen the damage that
may have occurred during two historic
floods in 2019 that occurred before
and after the project was completed:
one came in March, when heavy
rain fell on deep snowpack, and the
second was the result of torrential
rains in September. A gauge located
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Nebraskaland • July 2023
downstream, below where Bone Creek
joins Long Pine Creek, measured flows
near and above 6,000 cubic feet per
second where they are normally under
200 cfs. Elsewhere along the creek,
the flooding caused severe erosion,
uprooted trees and piled them along
the banks, causing more erosion.
“[The floodwaters] moved into
the area that had been full of cedar
trees, so it actually, more than likely,
protected some of our structures
because it dissipated that energy over
a bigger area,” Roberg said.
And where there were only cedars
growing beneath the oaks on the
floodplain, there are now numerous
plant species, which has benefitted
wildlife.
“The
herbaceous
community
responded big time,” said Kelly
Corman, a wildlife biologist who
manages the area. “We had coveys of
quail down in there the first couple of
years after clearing, which was pretty
neat to see. It’s certainly being utilized
by deer quite a bit. And we’re seeing
some young oak trees, some seedlings.
It’s a good thing.”
An Evolving Stream
So far, the results in the stream aren’t
exactly what biologists had hoped for.
Three electrofishing surveys of the
stream since work was completed
have actually found far fewer trout
than surveys conducted prior to the
project. But biologists believe there are
The flathead chub, a species of concern in Nebraska, is one of eight species of native
fishes that hadn’t been sampled in the stream at Pine Glen WMA prior to the project
that biologists are finding there now.
July 2023 •
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53
A Hike Worth the Effort
To fish Pine Glen Wildlife Management Area, pack your hiking
waders. While the Aquatic Habitat Program project there included
building a two-track road, that road is not open to the public. It does,
however, serve as a trail that anglers can follow to the creek, and the
hike is worth it for those looking to escape the crowds and immerse
themselves in a landscape few realize exists in Nebraska.
“Pine Glen provides more of what I call a rare opportunity to hike
into a remote trout stream surrounded by oak woodlands in a deep
pine canyon,” said Kelly Corman, the wildlife biologist who manages
the area. “It’s an experience that you don’t necessarily get in Nebraska,
and too many places. It’s kind of a unique quality. That would be lost if
you could drive to the bottom, and it would change the character of the
area.”
The hike in following the maintenance road, located on the north
end of the wildlife management area, covers a little more than 700
yards and drops 230 feet. Some anglers follow a second, unimproved,
unmarked trail that winds through the woods on the southern portion
of the area and is 100 yards shorter with a similar elevation change.
Corman said two other areas on the creek, one of the best trout
waters in the state, don’t require as much effort. At Long Pine State
Recreation Area, one can almost drive to the stream bank. Across
Highway 20, anglers can take an access road to the creek bottom and
hike a primitive trail less than 300 yards to the creek on Long Pine
Wildlife Management Area.
“I like the idea of having an area where if someone is willing to hike a
little bit, they can maybe avoid some of the fishing pressure,” said Joel
Klammer of Ainsworth, who mostly visits the stream in the fall when
flows are lower. “There are other areas where you can drive within feet
of the bank.
“I’ve always thought Pine Glen was a neat spot. It’s a long hike down
there, but if you go, you’re probably going to have it to yourself.”
Klammer casts his fly toward a cut bank in the stream below one of the structures installed in the project.
vegetation growing in this reach of
the stream that is common upstream.
Those plants, however, are now
starting to grow in the sediments that
have been deposited in the slack water
areas above and below the structures.
“Once you have that vegetation
established, it creates cover for fish,”
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Nebraskaland • July 2023
Huenemann said. “That’s what you’re
hoping to promote. Prey species occupy
those areas, and you’re promoting
macroinvertebrate growth and future
food sources for trout.”
Sampling has shown that the
diversity of species in the creek at
Pine Glen has increased. Aside from
the brown and rainbow trout, preproject sampling found only two
other species: longnose dace and
white suckers. Post sampling found
eight additional species, including the
flathead chub, a species of concern
in Nebraska. A warmwater species
native to the Missouri River Basin
but in serious decline, it is common in
Long Pine Creek between the mouth of
Bone Creek and the Niobrara, a reach
not considered a coldwater stream.
The species is likely moving upstream
during summer.
As was the case prior to the project,
the trout that are sampled are primarily
browns, but both browns and rainbows
are larger than in upstream reaches,
up to 15 and 14 inches, respectively.
“One of the things we’ve noticed on
some of the other tributaries is the
brown trout are the ones that seem
to be the most dominant in the lower
sections of those watersheds,” Roberg
said. “Brown trout are a little more
adaptable to higher turbidity and
slightly warmer temperatures. But
often do best in cool, clean water.”
Eventually, more trout will find
the habitat created by these new
structures, be it wild browns or
rainbows stocked at the SRA.
“I think once we get a population
in there that kind of stays, there’s
enough habitat to fulfill their life
cycles in those areas,” Huenemann
said. “So, theoretically, we can start
seeing opportunities for spawning
and reproduction and a sustainable
population down there.”
A Bright Future
Klammer, a former fisheries biologist
for the Commission, had spent time
working and fishing on the creek prior
to the Aquatic Habitat Project. Looking
at the work from both aspects, he liked
what he saw.
“It created some deeper water, nice
holes, holding areas, slack water …
that’s what fish are looking for,” he
said. “I thought those structures added
some nice habitat and some good
places for fish to hold, and obviously
there were some holding there that day.
“That was a really good day for
December fly fishing.” N
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THE PONCA SASQUATCH
By Renae Blum
Bigfoot has long been part of American myth — and
according to the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization, the
fabled beast has been spotted in Nebraska at least 15 times.
The most recent report, from Thurston County in May 2018,
describes a creature “MUCH larger than me. It could easily
be 10 plus feet.”
The scientific consensus is that Bigfoot isn’t real, but that
hasn’t stopped the ongoing search, nor the fascination. If
you’re hungering for a Bigfoot sighting of your own, there’s
one reliable place in Nebraska where he can be found: Ponca
State Park.
In April 2020, the world was reeling from the coronavirus
pandemic, and staff at Ponca had a big question to answer.
Their education programs were an important part of guest
There have been
15 reported
sightings of Bigfoot
in Nebraska. Some counties have had multiple reports.
The venture has been a big success. “He kind of has
his own fan club. People come out just to look for him,”
said superintendent Lynn Mellick. “It’s almost like a cult
following. It’s really neat how it’s taken off.”
Staff have fun with the project, too, dressing up Sasquatch
when the mood strikes. Visitors have spotted him decked out
in rabbit ears for Easter, board shorts and sunglasses and a
Santa suit.
News has traveled outside Nebraska, too — Leware says
Bigfoot enthusiasts from around the country have traveled
to Ponca just to take part.
Ponca’s office staff typically know where Sasquatch is
and are willing to point you in the right direction, she added.
Sometimes, he can be found on a hiking trail, requiring some
legwork to reach him, but a lot of the time, staff put him near
a parking lot or safe pull-off on the road, so those who can’t
make the hike can still participate.
Sasquatch remains outside 24-7, and they’ve already
had to replace the first Sasquatch costume due to the
elements. Given the cost of the costume, Leware isn’t sure
the Sasquatch scavenger hunt would survive the need for a
second replacement.
“But it’s kind of become part of what Ponca’s known for,
and so my hope is that it continues for quite a while.”
While his siblings were a bit wary of Sasquatch, Declan
Ferguson of Omaha has always been interested in “scary”
stuff, his mom said. KALENE PINK FERGUSON
experience, yet buildings were being shut down, and they
couldn’t hold any programs face-to-face. How, then, could
they keep people engaged?
The answer? A Sasquatch costume from the park’s annual
Hallowfest event.
“We decided that we were going to stuff it and start
moving it around the park and kind of do a self-guided
scavenger hunt,” said Katie Leware, a Ponca State Park
superintendent. “It’s a 7-foot-tall Sasquatch costume. You
can’t really miss him.”
This summer marks the third year guests can hunt for
Sasquatch, as he’s known at the park, and send in selfies to
be shared on Ponca’s Facebook page. Staff move him to new
locations weekly in the summer and every two weeks in the
off-season.
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Nebraskaland • July 2023
After finding Sasquatch at Ponca State Park, a couple poses
for a selfie. DARLENE KASSUBE
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FISHING ‘THE DOWN TIMES’
By Justin Haag
Nebraska’s fisheries have their ups and downs, especially
if we’re talking water levels.
The water stored in many of the state’s most popular
fishing lakes is vital for irrigating crops when Mother
Nature is stingy with rain. The annual drawdown of water
is important for agriculture, but can be challenging for fish
populations and the people pursuing them.
Anglers at many Nebraska reservoirs have become
accustomed to casting lines among trees in spring and
watching the shoreline recede far away from those locations
in late summer and fall when water is being diverted to the
fields. This is especially true in drought years when water is
in high demand.
The fluctuations of water volume pose challenges for Game
and Parks biologists trying to establish fish populations. Not
only does the extreme drawdown of reservoirs greatly affect
habitat, it also can flush nutrients from the lakes. With
a high turnover rate of water, lakes struggle to develop a
population of zooplankton, the miniscule aquatic organisms
that serve as the base of a food chain. In some cases, game
fish also are lost in the water that is released.
Anglers should be prepared for low water situations this
time of year. If levels recede below the bottoms of boat
ramps, the first challenge may be access. Bank anglers often
must trudge through long stretches of mud just to get to
water.
Hip or chest waders can be helpful while launching boats
or fishing from the bank. Smaller vessels, such as kayaks,
Kevin Rice of Bayard watches his fishing rod while camping
at Lake Minatare’s Lake View Point. JUSTIN HAAG, NEBRASKALAND
canoes and jon boats can be launched at places the trailers
of bigger vessels cannot go.
Knowing a lake’s depth structure can help anglers
know where to look for fish. With the drop in water levels
coinciding with the hottest period of summer, many species
head deep to lower temperatures, often converging at
underwater springs. While fish might not be as willing to
bite as they were in spring, such times can be advantageous
for anglers as fish will be concentrated. The Game and Parks
Commission has free printable maps of the bottoms of many
of the state’s most popular lakes and reservoirs.
Go to OutdoorNebraska.gov and search for “Lake
Contour Maps.”
Finally, when selecting baits and presentations, it
is always beneficial to know what the fish are eating
and where they are eating it. Merritt Reservoir,
Lake McConaughy and Lake Minatare, for instance,
have a pelagic prey base. That is, small fish such
as alewife and gizzard shad that serve as food for
larger predator game species. Find those smaller
fish and the bigger ones are sure to be in pursuit of
them. Modern electronic sonar units are valuable for
locating both game fish and prey species.
As water cools in the fall and irrigation ceases,
fish leave the deep and return to the shallows.
Winter arrives, and, if all goes according to plan,
snow falls over the mountains and plains. It melts
in spring and is joined by rainwater to bring those
Thanks to the boat ramp constructed in 2018, anglers got on the low
water levels back into the trees. The downs become
water at Box Butte Reservoir last summer with ease.
ups and the cycle begins anew.
JUSTIN HAAG, NEBRASKALAND
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Swainson’s Hawk
The Swainson’s hawk wasn’t recognized as a species
until 1832. Originally, William Swainson confused this
bird with the common buzzard of Europe. It wasn’t until a
French biologist corrected Swainson’s mistake that the hawk
became a new species.
HAWKS OF NEBRASKA
By Monica Macoubrie
Hawks are some of the most commonly seen birds in
Nebraska. Often, all you have to do to find one is look up.
These raptors, or birds of prey, usually perch on fence posts,
overlooking branches and sometimes, at your bird feeder —
any elevated spot where they can scan the ground to look
for food. While each species of hawk has its own unique
characteristics, they all have several features in common,
such as sharp eyesight, hooked beaks and sharp talons
(claws). Hawks are unusual among birds in that the female is
generally larger than her mate. This sexual dimorphism can
sometimes mean that a female is twice the size of the male.
Where they are different, hawks can vary significantly
in size. They can be small, large, chunky, red, brown, white,
spotted … and they live in a variety of habitats all across the
state. But first, let’s dive into how hawks are categorized
based on their size and features.
Scientifically, hawks are divided into two groups: buteo
and accipiter.
Buteos & Accipiters
Buteos include medium- to large-size hawks with heavy
bodies, short tails and relatively long, wide wings. These
birds tend to fly by flapping slowly for a few strokes and then
gliding into a series of tight circles until they gain enough
altitude to soar. Common buteos in Nebraska include redtailed hawks, Swainson’s hawks and ferruginous hawks.
Accipiters are small- to medium-size woodland hawks with
slender bodies, long, narrow tails and short, stubby rounded
wings. These birds are compact, which helps them maneuver
around trees while pursuing prey, which is normally other,
smaller birds. They fly in a consistent pattern of short, quick
bursts of flap-flap-flap patterns. Common accipiters you
will see in Nebraska include the sharp-shinned hawks and
Cooper’s hawks.
With there being over 270 species of hawks in the world,
telling them apart can be confusing. Let’s look at a few hawk
species that call Nebraska home. One might be perching
right outside your window at this moment.
Red-tailed Hawk
These birds are large with a red tail — hence their name.
They are mostly brownish on their backs with a pale belly.
Red-tailed hawks have earned the title “most prevalent hawk
in North America.” If you are ever traveling in Nebraska by
car along I-80, or any other highway for that matter, you have
most likely seen one of these birds perched on a telephone
pole or a fence post. More than likely, these birds have their
eyes fixed on the ground looking for the movements of a vole,
62
Nebraskaland • July 2023
Ferruginous hawk.
Red-tailed hawk.
CHRIS MASADA
BOB GRIER, NEBRASKALAND
When they meet, they both grab each other in midair with
their powerful feet.
rabbit or waiting to catch a thermal to ride into the sky.
Red-tailed hawks also have that quintessential raspy
scream that sounds like a true raptor. Many sound effect
directors will actually substitute the red-tailed hawk’s
screech for eagle noise. Eagles make more of a clacking noise,
while redtails have a raspy, shrill cry.
Rough-legged Hawk
Cooper’s Hawk
Swainson’s hawk.
Cooper’s hawks may be one of the most skillful fliers
among raptors. These birds are medium size with a blue-gray
head, neck, back and upper wings. They also have distinctive
rusty-red, horizontal barring on their white breasts. However,
Cooper’s are often
confused with the
sharp-shinned
hawk as they
have many of the
same patterns and
colors. This hawk
species
loves
to hang around
birdfeeders,
but they aren’t
checking out the
sunflower seeds
you’ve put out —
they’re looking to
prey on smaller
birds that are
snacking at your
Cooper’s hawk. BOB GRIER, NEBRASKALAND
feeder.
Cooper’s hawks
are found all over Nebraska, but they prefer forests and
woodlands. Although, tree-dense suburban areas work just
fine. This bird has a unique strategy for killing its prey: They
capture food with their feet and then repeatedly squeeze
it until it dies. They’ve even been known to hold a bird
underwater until it stops moving.
Swainson’s hawks have distinctively long wings with
pointed wingtips. This species is easily confused with redtailed and ferruginous hawks for their coloring and banding
on the wings. However, Swainson’s hawks favor open
habitats, such as native prairie and grasslands, and they eat
mainly mammals and insects.
When nesting and feeding chicks, they feed their young
the three “R’s”: rodents, rabbits and reptiles. When they
are not breeding, Swainson’s hawks feed almost exclusively
on insects, such as grasshoppers, dragonflies and crickets.
These birds make an annual migration of around 11,00015,000 miles each year to South America.
JUSTIN HAAG, NEBRASKALAND
If you want to spot this hawk, look outside in the
wintertime. These “chunky” raptors will hover while
facing into the wind. Rough-legged hawks look similarly
to red-tailed hawks. However, one distinctive feature is
that they have a longer tail than most other hawks and a
smaller beak.
Rough-legged hawks spend their summer capturing prey,
such as lemmings, in the Arctic tundra. While wintering in
Ferruginous Hawk
The word ferruginous means rust colored and refers to the
reddish coloring of the ferruginous hawk. These birds are
the largest hawks in North America and are a true western
species, found in wide open spaces with rocky outcrops and
cliffs, where they nest. The bulky sticks of their nests are
not easily woven together with sticks, so they often build on
pre-existing crow or other hawks’ nests. It is said that when
bison roamed the prairie, ferruginous hawks would use bison
bones and hair, along with sticks and twigs, to build their
homes.
The hawk’s diet is made of mostly small game, such as
prairie dogs, jackrabbits and ground squirrels. These hawks
will even walk, hop and run on the ground after their prey.
During courtship, ferruginous hawks pair perform displays
in the air by holding their wings above their backs while
soaring, after which, the male suddenly dives at the female.
Rough-legged hawk.
JUSTIN HAAG, NEBRASKALAND
Nebraska, you may spot one of these birds in large, open
areas, feeding on ground squirrels, pocket gophers and other
birds. They do so by hunting from elevated perches and
dropping down on prey. Rough-legged hawks occasionally
feed on carrion (dead animals), and they are known to steal
food from other hawks.
Hawks are fascinating birds and are more common than
people think. If you want to spot one, take a road trip or keep
a lookout at your feeder. They are always around.
July 2023 •
Nebraskaland
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PORTRAITS FROM THE PAST
Fishing at Harlan, late 1970s
This photo was taken at Harlan County Reservoir in the late ’70s when
my husband, Eric Laux, was just a little boy. These annual fishing trips
with his dad, Ken (center), and longtime family friend, Charlie Frerichs
(right), helped spark a lifelong love of fishing to include an advanced
degree in fisheries biology. Now in his 50s, my husband’s passion for fishing
is still strong as when he was a little boy. Ken and Charlie have passed, but
Eric continues the tradition by taking our son, Hunter, on annual trips with
his friends, Jim Farris and Larry Dygert, both of Hastings.
– Jennifer Laux, Omaha
Deer hunting, near Oconto, 1985
From the late 1970s into the
early 2000s, many days were filled
with hunting anything from dove,
duck, geese, pheasant, turkey and
whitetail. These photos were taken
approximately November 1985
northeast of Oconto in central
Nebraska. From left: Jim Stumpf (my
dad), Pete Hess and Quentin Moore.
Photo by Tom Moore (Quentin’s son).
These guys would travel most of the
state and venture into Wyoming,
Colorado, Utah and Alaska. Pete and
Quentin are now hunting in the great
outdoors in heaven and are missed
here, but not forgotten. It’s a shame
they didn’t take more pictures.
– Jeff Stumpf, Omaha
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Great fishing day, 1974
Emil “Buddy” Drozd and
Charlie “Chief” Drozd decided
to try their luck fishing.
The day turned successful
with the fishermen landing
flathead catfish weighing
51, 37 and 33 pounds
respectfully. Buddy and
Chief were lifelong anglers
in Genoa.
– Ed Drozd, Genoa
Hunting at the Edwards homestead,
early 1910
My grandmother, Delania Edwards
Adamson, with her brothers and
neighbors at the Edwards homestead,
which is now the Ford family ranch. It’s
good to see girls hunted, too!
From left standing: Rosa Heath,
Delania Adamson, Lattie Heath, Nellie
Heath and Barbara Edwards. From
left sitting: Leonard Finlayson, Ellis
Edwards and Charlie Edwards.
– Marge Adamson Harris, Lincoln
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 2000. 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. Text may be edited and photos adjusted for reproduction. All photos will be returned.
July 2023 •
Nebraskaland
65
THE LAST STOP
SUNFLOWER TORTOISE BEETLES
By Chris Helzer
We were conducting an early July butterfly survey, so
I was looking for small creatures on plants. As I walked
through a patch of flat prairie near the edge of the
Niobrara River, I spotted something dark and twitching
on a stiff sunflower leaf. It certainly wasn’t a butterfly,
but it looked like something worth investigating further.
I’m no entomologist, but I’ve spent a lot of time
looking at and photographing insects. This was a new
one to me. It looked like a cluster of tiny, dark-tailed
shrimp. Or maybe bloated scorpions with clubs instead
of stingers. I immediately stopped and took some photos
and called over my companions to see what I’d found.
Upon later investigation, the creatures turned out
to be the larvae of the sunflower tortoise beetle, a
gorgeous and fascinating little creature. As adult beetle,
it feeds on the same sunflower leaves as the larvae and
gradually changes color from black-and-white to an
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iridescent green over the course of its adult existence.
That’s pretty cool, but what’s with those crazy larvae?
Well. That dark portion of the larva’s tail is technically
referred to as a “fecal shield,” which is exactly what it
sounds like. Each larva has a mass of its own poop
adhered to its forked tail and held above itself as a
defense mechanism. As it feeds, it waves that smelly
poop tail at potential predators as if to say, “You really
want some of this?” Most don’t.
Exploring the outdoors is always an adventure
and full of surprises. On this particular day, we were
searching for the color, beauty and grace of butterflies.
We found plenty of butterflies, but the most memorable
find of the day was a bunch of beetle babies waving
their own excrement over their heads at us while they
calmly munched on a leaf.
Nature is amazing, huh?
July 2023 •
Nebraskaland
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Position: 583 (19 views)