Nebraskaland

42 Nebraskaland • April 2021 eight fl ood-control reservoirs built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that would be managed by the Commission as state recreation areas. Known as the Salt Valley Lakes, others would include: Branched Oak, Conestoga, Olive Creek, Pawnee, Stagecoach, and Twin Lakes. Two other Salt Valley Lakes, Hedgefi eld and Yankee Hill, are managed by the Commission as wildlife management areas. 1964 - Merritt Reservoir State Recreation Area, a U.S. Bureau of Recreation reservoir on the Snake River, opened. 1965 - Buff alo Bill Ranch was dedicated as a State Historical Park. The dedication followed extensive restoration work on the home and barn of famed showman scout William F. "Buff alo Bill" Cody, which was acquired in 1961. The Commission acquired 233 acres nearby on the North Platte River in 1989 to create Buff alo Bill State Recreation Area and provide a campground, which opened in 1999. 1966 - The fi rst facilities at Ash Hollow State Historical Park opened. Land acquisition began in 1962 and was completed in 1968 for this park, an important stop on the Oregon Trail that also featured a cave with evidence of human inhabitants in the valley dating back 7,000 to 10,000 years. A visitor center with exhibits highlighting the history of the area opened in 1978. 1966 - Acquisition of the 10,300-acre James Ranch expanded Fort Robinson State Park. 1967 - The legislature removed the responsibility for forestation from the Commission, which was renamed the Game and Parks Commission. 1967 - Land was purchased in Jeff erson County for what would be the core of Rock Creek Station State Historical Park, an important point on the Oregon Trail and a Pony Express station. In 1984, a visitors center, donated by the Burlington Northern Foundation, opened and work began to reconstruct historic buildings. 1968 - Fort Hartsuff State Historical Park opened to the public following restoration of a few of the buildings that remained from the military fort that served the area from 1874-1881. Acquired in 1960, the park was formally dedicated in 1973. 1970 - Indian Cave State Park, located in the bluff s along the Missouri River, opened to day use and primitive camping. Initial acquisition of land for the park began in 1963. In 2000, 347 acres of bottomland was added to the park. 1973 - Sixteen bison were moved from the Wildcat Hills State Recreation Area to start a herd at Fort Robinson State Park. 1973 - The Gretna fi sh hatchery, the state's fi rst when it was acquired in 1881, was closed and became part of Schramm Park State Recreation Area. The hatchery is now a museum. 1978 - A park-entry permit program, authorized by the legislature in 1976, was initiated to raise funds for improvement and maintenance of state parks. Additionally, the Nebraska Outdoor Recreation and Development Act, funded by a one-cent tax on cigarettes, began to fund new park construction. 1979 - The Ak-Sar-Ben Aquarium opened in Schramm Park. 1981 - The Commission released six bighorn sheep in an enclosure on the buttes at Fort Robinson State Park to Park superintendent Roye Lindsay in period dress on the veranda at Fort Hartsuff State Historical Park in Valley County in 1974. NGPC PHOTO LIBRARY A sod house, water pump and bucket at Bowring Ranch State Historical Park in Merriman. BOB GRIER, NEBRASKALAND

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