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Sandhills Wetlands
A behind-the-scenes look into the Wetlands of Nebraska project featuring Sandhills wetlands
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Who is Mariah?
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A portrait of Mariah. Photo by Ariel Panowicz
Born and raised in Nebraska, my appreciation and love for “the forgotten” places runs deep. However, that was not always the case. Growing up in eastern Nebraska, my exposure to the natural world was cornfields, scrubby riparian woodlands, and the elaborate strawberry garden my mom grew in our backyard. My days consisted of running around with the neighborhood kids–riding bikes, skateboarding, climbing trees, and playing in marshy fields I later learned were wetlands. Every summer, my parents would take my brother and me to a faraway magical place (Oregon) to get out into “the nature” to explore, fish, hike, and soak in the mountain views. Oregon, specifically, Paulina Lake, is where I fell in love with the natural world and is one of the driving forces for why I pursued a degree in Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska.
I was set on finding a career in natural resources and conservation. The idea of working to protect, restore, or educate folks about the natural world excited me. I floated through my first three years of college, mindlessly waiting for something I could grab ahold of. Then finally, I was told by my advisor to take a course that taught photography and storytelling with a focus on natural resources and conservation. This class was “Digital Imagery and Storytelling” and was taught by Mike Forsberg and Mike Farrell, who are lifelong storytellers and photographers, and the co-founders of Platte Basin Timelapse (PBT). Throughout this course, and learning more about PBT, I discovered that I could pursue a career that combines art, storytelling, and natural resources. I was hooked.
Fast forward to today, and I am now PBT's producer and project manager. As a conservation filmmaker and photographer, I focus on telling stories within the Great Plains and American West. My time at PBT has taken me to corners of the Platte Basin watershed that I may not otherwise have visited. Exploration of these often overlooked places made me fall in love with prairies, wetlands, and all the quiet places in between.
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This map shows the wetland categories featured in the 2022 Guide to Nebraska’s Wetlands.
My knowledge of prairies and wetlands in Nebraska was slim to none until I joined the project. I am still baffled to this day that it took me almost 20 years to learn about these incredibly important ecosystems I grew up playing in. The Wetlands of Nebraska project was a dream to work on because it allowed me to explore the stories of these wetlands in-depth, and grow an appreciation for these places. I hope the films and stories produced from this project help show others that Nebraska is a special place and that our wetlands and prairies are worth protecting and exploring.
Sandhills Wetlands
This film showcases the diversity and wildness that remains in the Nebraska Sandhills and the people working together to conserve it.
In Nebraska, there are five major wetland categories: Riverine, Playa, Saline, Urban, and Sandhills wetlands. Each of these wetland categories is unique, and critical to Nebraska’s biodiversity. My role on the Wetlands of Nebraska project was director and project manager. I worked with the five producers to help them conceptualize and construct their films, each with a focus on a specific wetland category. Sandhills wetlands was the category I led.
A panorama of a Sandhills wetland. Photo by Mariah Lundgren
In the heart of North America, lies 20,000 square miles of mostly intact mixed-grass prairie-covered dunes called the Sandhills. Beneath the ground, lies the Ogallala Aquifer, which holds nearly one billion acre-feet of water.
A yellow pond lily at Ballards Marsh near Valentine National Wildlife Refuge in the Nebraska Sandhills. Photo by Ethan Freese
Wetlands are defined by the presence of water, hydric plants (water-loving), and soils that have been developed in wet conditions. Wetlands in the Sandhills are found where the aquifer meets the surface in the valleys and between the hills, along the shorelines of the many rivers and streams, and on the edges of lakes. Impressively, the Sandhills has more than one million acres of wetlands and is one of the last truly wild landscapes left in the Great Plains.
An American Avocet wades through a Sandhills Wetland at Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge. Photo by Mariah Lundgren
Water is a critical resource for the people, plants, and wildlife inhabiting the Sandhills and those downstream who rely on the Ogallala Aquifer for drinking water, crop irrigation, and other municipal uses. Ranchers and conservation organizations manage the land through grazing, fire, and various other methods.
Ranch kids enjoy a firework show on the Fourth of July after a long fun-filled day of boating and gathering around a Sandhills lake and wetland at the Switzer Ranch in the Nebraska Sandhills. Photo by Mariah Lundgren
The Sandhills is the largest and most intact grassland left in the world. The Sandhills have remained relatively untouched since the westward invasion of European settlers. The sandy, porous soils make row-crop agriculture challenging, unlike how much of the Great Plains has turned to the plow. However, with renewable energy development, such as wind, and the wealth of groundwater that lies beneath, threats loom on the horizon.
Dead carp float on the surface after rotenone was applied to this Sandhills Lake. Rotenone is a chemical derived from a plant in the Amazon that is used to renovate lakes from invasive fish species. Photo by Ethan Freese
Along with human development, invasive species such as carp and eastern redcedar trees are rapidly encroaching. Carp are a non-native invasive fish that negatively impact water quality in lakes and the surrounding wetlands. They disturb the bottom of shallow lakes and wetlands, which affects the submerged wetland vegetation that needs good water quality to receive adequate sunlight and thrive. The Sandhills’ integrity must be conserved not only for the folks making a life on the land and the flora and fauna that call it home, but for recreation and tourists alike.
Ashley Forrester, a Blanding's Turtle researcher, at her field site in the Nebraska Sandhills. Ashley is holding a Painted Turtle (left) and a Blanding's Turtle (right). Photo by Mariah Lundgren
Tools & Techniques
Drones are tools frequently used in the Platte Basin Timelapse project to help us tell stories and show us a place from a unique perspective. In the Great Plains, it is challenging to see the landscape in its entirety because of the relatively flat topography. Drones have been invaluable in showing us places in ways we have never seen before. Platte Basin Timelapse certified part 107 pilots fly the DJI Mavic 2 Pro and DJI Mavic 3 Cine.
What follows is a gallery of images captured from above that show the wetlands found in the Nebraska Sandhills from a bird’s eye view.
(Image 1) A wetland complex on a private ranch in the western Nebraska Sandhills. (Image 2) A top down shot of an alkaline wetland in the western Nebraska Sandhills. (Image 3) A marsh wetland at Ballards Marsh Wildlife Management Area. (Image 4) Fringe wetlands and private ranchlands surround the North Loup River. (Image 5) A fen wetland on a private ranch in the north-central Nebraska Sandhills.
Stories From the Field
A Turtle’s Sanctuary
It was July 2020, the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. PBT producer Grant Reiner and I made a trip to the Sandhills to meet up with a University of Nebraska at Kearney graduate student, Ashley Forrester, to follow her as she surveyed Blanding’s Turtles on a ranch in Cherry County.
We spent the first few days of the trip camping on a tributary of the North Platte River near Scottsbluff, exploring and filming riverine wetlands. After days spent alongside the banks of the river, we packed our bags and headed east on Highway 2 toward Hyannis, Nebraska. On our drive, we ran into some nasty weather. Deep blue billowing clouds loomed in the distance as the rain started to bead on our windshields. I pulled over, checked the radar on my phone, and we were in a thunderstorm warning. We decided against taking cover in the only gas station for miles and instead went to our campsite at Frye Lake State Wildlife Management Area. We hunkered down in our cars, and once the storm passed, we were greeted with the most amazing light in one of the most lush green landscapes I have ever seen. After a joyous hour of beautiful light, the sun set and the mosquitoes emerged…which is another story entirely.
A wetland at Cottonwood/Steverson State Wildlife Management area after a thunderstorm. Photo by Mariah Lundgren
The next morning we drove north on Highway 61 to meet up with Ashley and her field assistant, Latjor, at Fawn Lake Ranch. I had never seen a Blanding’s Turtle before, so I was excited about the prospect of seeing one. Blanding’s Turtles are listed as a species of conservation concern in every state of their historic range except for Nebraska. They utilize both uplands and wetlands, making the Sandhills a refuge for this species.
A wetland area where Ashley Forrester had traps set for her research with Blanding's Turtles in the western Nebraska Sandhills. Photo by Mariah Lundgren
Once we arrived at the ranch headquarters, we followed Ashley and Latjor in our vehicles on a pasture “road” otherwise known as a two-track. We arrived at their first site, which was a small lake surrounded by wetlands and rolling grass-covered sand dunes. Not a car, building, or paved road for miles. Ashley and Latjor had a series of crab traps and hoop nets deployed around the lake's edge to capture Blanding’s Turtles for Ashley’s study. Most of the crab traps and hoop nets were empty, except for the occasional Snapping Turtle. Then finally, after about an hour of checking traps, Eureka! We had one.
A Blanding's Turtle on the side of a gravel road at Valentine National Wildlife Refuge. Photo by Mariah Lundgren
Blanding’s Turtles are medium-sized turtles, about the size of a helmet, with a high domed carapace (a carapace is the top of a turtle shell). They have long yellow necks and a curvature on their mouth, so they always look like they are smiling. Because of this unique characteristic, they are notably called “smilies”.
I am no scientist; I just hang out with them. But from my time learning about Blanding’s Turtles with Ashley and Latjor, I have grown a deep appreciation for the “smilies” and can only speculate why this species is thriving in the Sandhills. Maybe it’s the roadless expanses, the abundance of wetlands, water, and quality habitat. Whatever the case, the Sandhills and wetlands that encompass them have proven to be a sanctuary for the Blanding’s Turtle, and that’s something worth protecting.
Ashley Forrester and her dad with a Blanding's Turtle they captured by tracking it with a telemetry device. Photo by Mariah Lundgren
Fen Fest
There is a type of wetland found in the Sandhills that holds mystery and wonder; that wetland is called a fen.
A fen wetland in the Nebraska Sandhills. Photo by Dakota Altman
It was June 2021. PBT producers, Ethan Freese, Dakota Altman, and I spent three days in the Sandhills with Nebraska’s State Botanist, Gerry Steinauer, and Nebraska’s Wetland Program Manager, Ted LaGrange, Ted and Gerry work for the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. The itinerary of this trip was to explore three different fens on public and private lands deep in the heart of the Sandhills. So naturally, this trip coined the name “Fen Fest”.
Ted LaGrange (left) and Gerry Steinauer (right) peer over sawbeak sedge found in a fen in the Nebraska Sandhills. Photo by Dakota Altman
A fen is a type of wetland that is fed by groundwater. Its soils are saturated in water, and they form in low oxygen conditions otherwise known as anaerobic conditions, over a long period of time. This soil turns into a type of soil we call “peat” or “muck”. Fens are found in various climates, including warmer and arid regions such as the Sandhills of Nebraska. If you see a fen from the side of the road, you would hardly know what you are looking at. However, when you set foot on one, in places, it is like you are standing on a waterbed. This is due to the peat and muck soils and the proximity to the groundwater. Legend has it that cows, cars, and tractors have been swallowed by fens.
Marsh Marigold is a flowering plant that is commonly found in fens in the Nebraska Sandhills. Photo by Ethan Freese
The three fens we visited during “Fen Fest” were a fen located on the banks of Steverson Lake at Cottonwood-Steverson Wildlife Management Area, a fen on private land owned by the Ravenscroft family, and a fen on the Turner Enterprise’s Spikebox Ranch. Having the combined knowledge of Gerry and Ted to guide us as we explored these places was a delightful and informative experience. I learned that fens hold rich and charismatic plant life, some of which are only found in the Sandhills of Nebraska. I learned that fens, over time have been ditched and used as hay meadows. But mostly, I learned that fens are a unique type of wetland that should be cherished.
Reflections
There is still a wildness that remains in the heart of the Great Plains. The loss of prairies and wetlands is overwhelming, but the Sandhills are a place of promise and refuge. I spent a total of two months in the Sandhills over a span of two years, and I feel as if I have only scratched the surface. The amount of life, beauty, and wonder that remains in that precious landscape is remarkable. I feel so fortunate to have been able to explore the landscape, meet the landowners and stewards, and to be able to share those photos and my stories with anyone willing to listen.
Please enjoy the following photo gallery of images captured for this project in the Nebraska Sandhills by me (Mariah Lundgren), Ethan Freese, Dakota Altman and Grant Reiner.
Visit Sandhills Wetlands
Nebraska Sandhills wetlands adopted from the 2022 Wetlands of Nebraska Guidebook. The pins on the map represent a few selected public use areas that give access to wetlands in the Nebraska Sandhills. Click on each pin to learn more.
Below is a list of a few selected public use areas that offer access to wetlands in the Nebraska Sandhills. The locations listed below are the same ones shown on the map above. Click on the hyperlinks to see the location on Google Maps.
Film
This film showcases the diversity and wildness that remains in the Nebraska Sandhills and some of the people who are working together to conserve it.