60 Nebraskaland • April 2019
MIXED BAG
FORT ROBINSON STATE
PARK FISHING UPGRADES
UNDERWAY
Anglers visiting Fort Robinson State Park in coming
months may be disappointed to find some of their favorite
ponds without water, but are sure to enjoy the same places
in coming years.
The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission drained Grabel
Ponds and Cherry Creek Pond to make way for the first phase
of an Aquatic Habitat Program project to improve conditions
for fish and anglers at the two ponds, along with the Cherry
Creek diversion pond and the lower Ice House Pond.
The project will deepen the ponds, create aquatic habitat
features for fish, reshape embankments, install new outlet
structures and develop improved access for anglers. Plans
call for refilling the ponds and stocking fish by early fall.
Although some areas are closed for the construction, Fort
Robinson visitors may still find fish at Carter P. Johnson
Lake, Soldier Creek or the White River.
Joe Rydell of Alliance, Commission fisheries biologist,
said the ponds provide angling opportunities to countless
park visitors each year but are in need of an upgrade and
have untapped potential. Fed by coldwater streams and
springs, many of the ponds in the 22,000-acre park served
the Crawford National Fish Hatchery, constructed in the late
1920s.
Funding for the project is being provided by the state
Aquatic Habitat Stamp and the federal Sport Fish Restoration
Program.
By Justin Haag
GRABEL
PONDS
(ABOVE)
AND
ICE
HOUSE
PONDS
AT
FORT
ROBINSON
STATE
PARK..
PHOTOS
BY
JUSTIN
HAAG
