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/1293505
October 2020 • Nebraskaland 35 dark. Life jackets are highly recommended. Hunting the river section with deep, swift channels, can be especially precarious. "It's not like hunting a little marsh," Curran said. "It's dangerous. And I've known people who have just about lost their lives stepping off sandbars into the current." The water level in the river is dictated by releases from Fort Randall Dam. In most years, fl ows are reduced at the end of November, but that reduction can come 10 days earlier in drought years or 10 days later in wet years, Curran said. When fl ows are reduced, it can aff ect access at some boat ramps. Hydropeaking, daily fl uctuations that are the result of the timing of hydropower production at Randall that could drop the river and strand unknowing hunters, is not occurring as it once was due to changes in power production, Curran said. Ice can also be a hazard. When temperatures drop, shallow backwaters and basins at boat ramps can freeze and slush ice will form on the main channel. When conditions are right, things can change in a hurry. In 2013, the Nebraska State Patrol needed a helicopter to rescue eight hunters in two parties when the river, free of ice in the morning, froze so quickly they couldn't make it back to shore. Ice can also be an issue on boat ramps, where water draining from boats and trailers when hunters pull out can freeze and coat the concrete with a sheet of ice. When that happens, tire chains are required. Despite these challenges, the area has and will always be a draw for hunters and waterfowl. Kostinec scans the delta for ducks at sunset the evening before a hunt. How the Delta was Formed The Missouri River in Knox County once bent back and forth between the bluff s on the South Dakota and Nebraska shorelines, with farm fi elds and wetlands fi lling the land between the bends. Gavins Point Dam, the farthest downstream of six massive dams built on the river, was completed in 1955 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, inundating some of this land. The creation of the reservoir also slowed the river's fl ow, allowing the 5.1 million tons of sediment in the river, most of it sand from the Niobrara River, to settle and accumulate, forming the delta. This process also raised groundwater levels, forcing the relocation of the village of Niobrara in the mid-1970s and Niobrara State Park in 1987. Each year, the delta grows by roughly 400 feet, more during fl oods like those seen in 2011 and 2019. That means more marsh for hunters, but less water for boaters in the lake, The reservoir is 8 miles shorter than it once was and has lost 30 percent of its storage capacity. Experts estimate it will fi ll with sediment in 150 years.