34 Nebraskaland • May 2024
Fen Fest: Part 2
This past fall, the same team, minus Gerry, plus others
from Nebraska Game and Parks and the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln, visited a fen in the far eastern Nebraska
Sandhills, where we installed a PBT timelapse camera to
watch the fen wetland change over time. Naturally, we
called this outing Fen Fest: Part 2, which I am hopeful will
become a new tradition with our group.
It was a windless evening — the air was crisp, and the
temperature was pleasant. Our mission was simple: to
explore the fen and swap memory cards on the timelapse
camera. However, when we arrived at the spring, we
discovered something not quite right. A cow bone was found
in front of the camera right next to the spring.
"Hmmmm," Dakota said. "This was not here last time we
checked the camera."
That led us to think either A) the cow bone was brought
here by another animal, or B) the cow was swallowed by
the fen. We quickly moved on from the cow bone and began
exploring the bottomless springs, charming plant life and
each other's company.
A few weeks later, Dakota downloaded the images from
the timelapse camera, and lo and behold, the timelapse
LEFT – TOP TO BOTTOM: Connected to the storied prehistoric
past and an ever-evolving future, Jenning's Fen is a unique
wetland ecosystem found along the easternmost edge
of the Sandhills and connects to a shallow meandering
prairie river called Beaver Creek. Fens are where ancient
groundwater pushes up to the surface, supplying cold water
that supports a plant community that has persisted since
the ice age. Plants such as bog bean, marsh marigold, marsh
fern and the rare Loesel's twayblade orchid can be found in
fens. This timelapse camera looks into two circular springs
where sand and cool water boil to the surface, surrounded
by a working landscape of cattle and ranching. MICHAEL FORSBERG
Little wisps of white, Q-tip-like fl owers stick out during an
overcast day on a fen. Cottongrass is so called because of its
seed head having a similar appearance to the cotton plant.
They grow in large clumps in the peat and muck fen soils.
DAKOTA ALTMAN
