W
ith exposed banks of yellow
clay cut by time and the
Elkhorn River, Yellowbanks
Wildlife Management Area (WMA)
in Battle Creek has been a named
landmark for nearly a century. Though
only acquired by the Nebraska Game
and Parks Commission in the early
1960s and expanded in 1984, the
area has long held an identity of both
history and legend. Now wild and
trafficked by mostly deer and turkey
hunters, there is little evidence –
save some crumbling concrete – that
anything ever happened there.
Currently 664 acres, the WMA
is composed of mostly riparian and
oak woodlands, with some grassland.
White-tailed deer, turkey, rabbits
and squirrels thrive there, as well as
eastern woodland plants such as wild
columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)
and jack-in-the pulpit (Arisaema
triphyllum), the later of which bears
clusters of distinctive bright-red fruit
in late summer and fall. Though
historically logged, the oak woodlands
have survived, and their location on the
floodplains of an ever-changing river
is a rare occurrence in Nebraska.
In 2015, the striking yellow banks
still stand, but more steeply than what
they were. Rivers will gradually move
over time, as evidenced by scars seen
from satellite images from above,
but big rain events can drastically
change their course and the face of the
surrounding land, too. Battle Creek
locals who have been around long
enough to watch the river change may
also know stories about Yellow Banks
Park and the old hermit.
Yellow Banks Park
Crumbled with weeds growing
through its cracks, a concrete
foundation is hidden among
encroaching trees in the southwestern
area of the WMA. Rusted metal
clips that once held a maple dance
floor are still attached to its surface.
Hard to believe, but they are the only
remains of Yellow Banks Park, a large
Yellowbanks WMA
Story and photos by Jenny Nguyen
The dance pavilion's concrete foundation is
the only remaining structure of Yellow Banks
Park. The park was a recreation resort that
existed on present-day Yellowbanks WMA in
the 1920s and 1930s.
42 NEBRASKAland • JULY 2015
