50 Nebraskaland • March 2021
colony was later found at Rock Glen.
Another rare plant is the purple cliff -brake, a small,
evergreen fern found in only seven, mostly southeastern,
Nebraska counties where it sporadically inhabits dry, rocky,
calcareous slopes and outcrops. Rock Glen's only known cliff -
brake colony clings to a sandstone boulder standing alone on
a prairie hillside. Sometime in the past, a wind-blown spore
of the plant landed upon the rock, giving rise to the colony.
Indian-plantain and pale Indian-plantain are two rare
plants growing at the WMA that are not restricted to
sandstone substrates. The former occupies low prairie slopes,
often near seeps, while the latter grows in oak savannas.
Recent management has increased populations of both
species at Rock Glen, while elsewhere in eastern Nebraska,
the plants are becoming increasingly rare.
Restoring the Land
Although still intact, settlement aff ected Rock Glen's
woodlands and prairies. Early on, large oaks and other trees
were harvested for lumber and fuel. In some areas, non-
native plants have displaced native plants, and control of
wildfi res has allowed hackberry, honey locust and especially
cedar trees to spread from deep canyons into oak savanna
and prairie, shading out their fl ora and stifl ing regeneration
of the sun-loving oaks in the savanna.
When the Commission purchased the 707-acre Rock Glen
in 1991, "it was a cedar forest," said Brad Seitz, the area's
manager. Ever since, he and fellow biologist Rick Souerdyke
have worked to restore the land. Their goals are two-fold:
return the woodland and prairie to a more pristine state and
also to enhance habitat and hunting opportunities for deer,
turkeys, bobwhite quail and other game species. The latter is
a management objective for all Commission WMAs.
Beginning in 1995, Seitz tried to tackle the cedars
using prescribed fi res of a few hundred acres or less in
size, but progress was slow. Cedars, especially small ones,
are susceptible to the fl ames and heat of fi re, and unlike
deciduous trees, do not resprout when top-killed. At Rock
Glen, however, the cedars had grown large, crowding out the
fuel-providing grasses below and standing above fl ames'
reach. In other words, they had become immune to prescribed
fi re.
Seitz realized his only option was to cut the cedars. With
limited staff , heavy equipment and funds, he was forced to
seek grant funds from the Nebraska Environmental Trust
and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to hire contractors to do
Recent land management at Rock Glen has increased
populations of the rare Indian plantain.
PHOTO
BY
GERRY
STEINAUER
