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/1213050
26 Nebraskaland • March 2020 weedy plants, surrounded by short- cropped grass, provide fantastic brood- rearing habitat for quail, pheasants and upland sandpipers, as well as food and habitat for many other species of wildlife, pollinators and other insects. Recreation and Family While we do our best to improve the conservation value of our prairie, the site is most important to us as a family retreat and recreational area. It's only a 15-minute drive from our house, so it's easy to head out for just a few hours at a time. The kids and dogs love to explore the wetland area, either by wading or with the canoe we store on site. Fishing is no longer an option after the last bullheads disappeared when the wetland dried up completely a few years back, but there are plenty of frogs and other critters to chase and watch. In addition, we rarely visit the prairie without making a small campfire and cooking hot dogs on sticks. When I cut down some good-sized trees several years ago, we stacked the branches strategically, leaving hollow areas in the middle of each pile, and the kids used those piles as forts and hideouts. They also climb the few remaining trees on site, chase each other around with sticks, and even let their parents show them interesting flowers or tracks now and then. We've gone ice skating, sledding, hunting, camping and insect netting countless times over the years, and as my older kids are nearing adulthood, those activities rank among their top memories of growing up. Despite spending much of my work week in prairies, I still love heading to the Helzer Family Prairie during my evenings or weekends. It's a great place for photography, or just to explore and see how things are changing. I've learned a tremendous amount about prairie ecology simply by watching plant and animal communities respond to both weather patterns and our management practices. I'm eternally grateful to all my relatives who have helped keep our prairie in the family, and for the trust they've placed in me as caretaker of the site. I'm also proud to live in a state where the vast majority of land is owned and managed by families like ours. Each of us has the incredible privilege and responsibility to maintain the health of the land in our care, and to ensure that the generations following us will honor the same obligations. It's a sacred responsibility that I cherish, and I hope it's one that my kids will as well. N The prairie is a frequent site of family campfi re suppers. From left to right: John, Daniel, Anna, and Kim Helzer. Fitz, the family labradoodle enjoys cavorting about in the prairie. Anna Helzer holds a recently emerged green darner dragonfl y in the wetland area.