44 Nebraskaland • April 2021
Land for the park was acquired in 1987. A partnership
between the Commission and the University of Nebraska
State Museum, it features ongoing excavation of fossils left
nearly 12 million years ago.
1992 -Smith Falls State Park, the site of the state's highest
waterfall, was established on the Niobrara River near
Valentine.
1994 - A gift from the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy of
321 miles of abandoned Chicago & North Western rail line
across northern Nebraska led to the creation of the Cowboy
Recreation and Nature Trail. When completed, it will be the
longest rails-to-trails conversion in the country.
1995 - The Wildcat Hills Nature Center opened at the state
recreation area south of Gering. A cooperative eff ort between
the Commission and local civic leaders and groups, the center
serves as an educational facility, museum and interpretive
center. An expansion completed in 2017 nearly doubled the
size of the center.
2000 - Five cabins, the fi rst of 10, open on the shore of
Lewis and Clark Lake.
2001 - The Lake McConaughy Visitor and Water
Interpretive Center opened. The facility includes the Ethel S.
Abbot Theater, aquariums and interactive exhibits depicting
the story of water in Nebraska, and the history, hydrology
and geology of the North Platte River Valley and Lake
McConaughy.
Kids play in the touch tank at the Schramm Education Center. JENNY NGUYEN-WHEATLEY, NEBRASKALAND
The Niobrara River Bridge on the Cowboy Trail in Cherry
County, 1997.
MIKE FORSBERG, NEBRASKALAND
