Nebraskaland

34 Nebraskaland • March 2020 campsites, destroying two fishing piers, damaging several breakwaters and, on the reservoir's upper end, a causeway that is part of a trail that circles the lake and links to nearby Pierce. On the Elkhorn River, the bottomland portion of Dead Timber SRA was inundated, washing out the campground and the road to it, both of which reopened in late summer. On the popular Elkhorn River Water Trail, three access points maintained by Papio-Missouri River NRD between Bennington and Omaha were damaged by flooding and closed much of the year. More than 300 volunteers helped Game and Parks staff on projects at several areas, including Louisville and Fremont, in the months after the flood, helping assure parks could reopen by Memorial Day. There is still much to be done. Picnic tables, pit toilets, fire rings and other campground amenities will have to be repaired or replaced. Where campgrounds were under water for extended periods, damage to electrical service was costly as numerous service panels and pedestals will need to be replaced. In all, repair costs to the parks are estimated at $7.7 million. That doesn't include damage to The Cowboy Recreation and Nature Trail that spans much of northern Nebraska and was complete from Valentine to Norfolk. It was damaged in 170 locations, forcing the closure of five segments of the trail. Near Valentine, a 100-year-old box culvert in an embankment is failing and causing the trail to collapse. East of Long Pine, another embankment washed out. Near Neligh, Oakdale and Norfolk, the Elkhorn River caused significant erosion on the embankment. Bridge approaches were damaged at O'Neill and Neligh. The estimated cost of repairs for damage to the trail in 2019 is $7.7 million. Fisheries When the Platte River breached a levee separating it from a private sandpit lake west of Fremont, it sent floodwater flowing through that sandpit and washed out the embankment and road separating it from Lake 20 on the southwestern corner of Fremont Lakes SRA. Flows continued through Lake 20, washing out the bank separating it from Lake Leba, a private sandpit to the east. That connection to the Platte allowed common carp, gizzard shad and other undesirable species of rough fish to enter the sandpit lakes. These species can disrupt an aquatic ecosystem by clouding the water or competing with game fish for food. Additionally, the flush of nutrients brought in by floodwaters can fuel algae blooms, another detriment to water quality. Overland flooding carried rough fish into numerous public and private sandpit lakes along the Platte, Elkhorn, Loup and other rivers and streams in March, and again in July. Many of these lakes had undergone treatments to remove carp and had developed into excellent fisheries for largemouth bass, bluegills, crappies and other species. In many lakes, those treatments will have to be repeated to restore the fisheries. Once restocked, fish need at least three years to grow big enough to be coveted by anglers. At Fremont, crews repairing the road along Lake 20 were forced to put culverts in to handle the water that continues to flow in from the Platte and through the lakes, putting work to A culvert on the East Branch of Verdigre Creek at the Grove Trout Rearing Station washed out March 14. Quick repairs were required so hatchery staff could access trout in the raceways and ponds. Heavy rains July 8-9 sent Kea Lake at the Kearney Interchange out of its banks, flooding the parking lot and boat ramp of the wildlife management area. PHOTO BY JOE CASSIDY PHOTO BY ERIC FOWLER PHOTO BY BRAD EIFERT

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