wetlands
...when we lose wetlands:
LEARN MORE AT
NebraskaWetlands.com
Diverse wildlife
Conservation Programs
Nebraska is unique in that it possesses
three major wetland complexes – the
Sandhills, the Rainwater Basin, and the
Platte River – that are of international
importance to wildlife. Wetlands play an
important role by providing habitat for
threatened and endangered species.
100%
of amphibians
50%
of birds and plants
38%
of reptiles
70%
of the continent's sandhill crane
population uses the Platte River for roosting habitat.
90%
Nebraska species relying on wetlands:
36%
of mammals
Protection from
disaster
Wetlands hold
water, making
flooding and soil
erosion less likely.
Revenue in tourism and
hunting recreation
Streams and wetlands are major economic
drivers because of their role in hunting,
fishing, recreation, and agriculture. In the
Rainwater Basin landscape, every acre
generates $20 per year in revenue.
of the state's threatened
and endangered
species, such
as piping plovers
and whooping cranes,
depend on wetlands.
$
Wetland conservation programs like the USDA's Wetland Reserve
Easement Program (WRE, formerly called Wetlands Reserve
Program or WRP), provide alternatives for flood-prone cropland,
helping producers reduce input costs and maximize net farm
income. There are numerous other voluntary incentive programs
for wetland conservation provided by federal, state, and local
agencies. More than 100,000 acres have been conserved over the
past 25 years, through a variety of methods including protection,
restoration, management, inventory, research, and education.
We need to continue to conserve
wetlands and maintain the funding
for conservation programs or we
will see a rapid decline once again.
November 2019 • Nebraskaland 57
DESIGN
AND
GRAPHICS
BY
MEL
SEVERIN
