22 Nebraskaland • May 2023
ABOVE: Four playa complexes are found in Nebraska — the Rainwater Basin, seen here, Central Table Playas, Southwest Playas
and the Todd Valley Playas. Only 10% of the Rainwater Basin's wetlands remain. ETHAN FREESE
BELOW: Playas are home to thousands of animal species, including common garter snakes. ETHAN FREESE
On a spring day, a normally dry depression along Interstate
80 was fi lled with water, and a massive group of snow
geese descended into the water below. This was my fi rst
introduction to the Rainwater Basin, Nebraska's largest
playa wetland complex.
Playas receive their water from rain and snowmelt, and
they are formed when wind scours out depressions, which
are often circular shaped, in relatively fl at landscapes. Over
thousands of years the downward movement of water has
created a clay layer in the soil underneath. When wet, the
clay ponds water on the surface of the playa.
In spring, a playa wetland may be fi lled with a myriad of
migratory waterbirds. If you visit the same playa just a few
months later, however, the wetland may be completely dry.
Deep pits on marginal cropland, to concentrate the water,
undermine playa wetlands, as does sedimentation and
invasive species like red canary grass. Yet farmers, ranchers
and conservationists continue to work on playas so that the
thousands of species of animals that use these ecosystems
will have homes long into the future.
Playa Wetlands
By Ethan Freese
