NEBRASKAland Magazine is dedicated to outstanding photography and informative writing with an engaging mix of articles and photos highlighting Nebraska’s outdoor activities, parklands, wildlife, history and people.
Issue link: http://mag.outdoornebraska.gov/i/1008599
NEBRASKAland Magazine • Nebraska's Saline Wetlands wettest, salt encrusted soils, along banks of streams and ditches with running water. Due to their specific needs tied to water, changes on the land and destruction of habitat nearly erased them from the earth. The beetles were never widespread but once thought locally abundant based on museum records. At the time of their federal listing, only several hundred adult individuals remained. "Tiger beetles are good indicators for the health of the salt marsh," said Spomer, who puts on many miles each summer monitoring populations. "They can recover quickly from temporary changes in populations, natural events like floods, and even pesticides to a point, but not from habitat destruction." While the Endangered Species Act draws a necessary regulatory framework around protecting the beetle and its habitat, the recovery plan for the species and its habitat recognizes a collaborative approach. In conservation today, and especially in working landscapes with a mix of landownerships, collaboration is key, and partnerships can be everything. The Partnership The Saline Wetlands Conservation Partnership was formed in 2003, two years before the Salt Creek tiger beetle was federally listed, but at the perfect time to help protect, restore, and manage many of the remaining saline wetlands in the Salt Creek watershed and educate people about the importance of these wetlands. Today, its major partners include the City of Lincoln, Lower Platte South Natural Resources District, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, Pheasants Forever, and a bundle of other agencies and entities, including private landowners. To date, the Partnership has helped to acquire from willing sellers roughly 1,600 acres of land containing saline wetlands, ranging in size from 7 acres to 220 acres. An additional 800 acres containing saline wetlands are protected with conservation easements. And the Partnership is focusing on connecting many of those parcels together to create scale. The Partnership has also helped to coordinate nine restoration projects, ranging from full-scale wetland restoration of a landscape like the new Marsh Wren area owned by the Lower Platte South NRD, to creating endangered species habitat for Salt Creek tiger beetles, and improving public access at many of its sites. It has also been in classrooms and provided field experiences for thousands of students from grade school through college. Tom Malmstrom, longtime coordinator for the Partnership, said he didn't know the saline wetlands even existed when he was in college, but now knows them like the back of his hand. "I always tell people I have the job I wanted out of college, but it just took me 25 years to get it." He also knows that building an intimate relationship with this landscape means building solid relationships and trust with landowners and his colleagues in the conservation community. It all works together. The Partnership has been in existence for 15 years, and has provided a frame that focuses on inclusion rather than regulation, with the end goal to conserve saline wetlands for the entire community. "I think the people in the community still believe in the vision, and those in the partnership still believe in it," says Malmstrom. "The Partnership has done a good job removing the endangered species nexus that really was a volatile component of it when we first started. People started seeing the value beyond the Salt Creek tiger beetle." An Environmental Resource Another positive turn for the saline wetlands has been the City of Lincoln and Lancaster County recognizing the importance of green spaces and "environmental resources" Small but mighty, a sedge wren measuring four inches long and weighing less than half an ounce sings strong from its territorial perch at Frank Shoemaker Marsh. A curious mink pokes up from between the slats of an old bridge along Rock Creek at Jack Sinn Wildlife Management Area. Predators like mink play an important role in the balance and diversity of life in the saline wetlands landscape.