Mitigation Progress Continues Along Missouri River

During the past two years, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has continued to purchase additional land tracts for mitigation purposes along the Missouri River.

In the Omaha District, the agency - as of early February - has bought from willing sellers, 20,114.87 acres for the Missouri River Recovery (Mitigation) Program, said Sean M. Keating, a senior realty specialist, civil branch. "We have also acquired an additional 5,438.73 acres of land use through fish and wildlife mitigation easements granted to the United States by our partners in the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission."

Thus far in fiscal year 2012, 137.66 acres in two tracts have been acquired, Keating said.

A small tract of 45.41 acres is at Tobacco Island, southeast of Plattsmouth, in Cass County, Nebraska. This area is also known as the William Gilmore WMA, and is managed by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, through a partnership agreement with the Corps of Engineers.

"This parcel is a little smaller than we would normally acquire, but it will help improve access to Tobacco Island off of Horning Road through Plattsmouth," Keating said. "The previous owner had a tendency to close and lock the gate across the road. A second tract of 92.25 acres is at Brownville Bend in Nemaha County, Nebraska."

There were 454.45 acres acquired during FY 2011 in the Omaha District, which includes Nebraska, Iowa and South Dakota. The fiscal year ended on October 31st, 2011.

The parcels were all in Nemaha County, Nebraska, according to Keating. Two were associated with the Langdon Bend site (95.07 acres and 265.26 acres).

Langdon Bend now includes 1283 acres, and has been a focus site for additional habitat management work, including the installation of water pumps and creating areas where water conditions can be actively managed to improve conditions for migratory fowl.

A tract of 94.02 acres was bought at Brownville Bend.

"The two smaller tracts were recreational land, encumbered by Wetland Reserve Program easements, while the larger tract was technically agricultural land, although it had not been farmed in almost two years as a result of high groundwater making it too wet to farm," Keating said.

The Missouri River flood of 2011 influenced acquisition of additional property.

"When acquiring real estate, the Corps of Engineers is first required to have the property appraised," Keating said. "Once the water came up, it became very difficult to appraise anything. Even before the flood, our appraisers were having a difficult time attempting to pin down prices in a market where prices for land - particularly agricultural land - were rising daily."

This year the Corps is "looking at the possibility of using more outside appraisers to help carry some of the workload left over from last year in addition to the new willing sellers we have had contact us so far this year."

"We are looking at trying to add to existing Corps-owned projects at Langdon Bend and St. Mary's Island, but there are also exciting new possibilities at Sonora Bend, Civil Bend and even something a little closer to Omaha at Papillion Bend," Keating said. Since this "is a willing seller program, any or all of these potential sites could fall through at any time."

It is uncertain if the flood has had any influence on an increased interest in selling flood-prone land in the river valley.

"We were contacted by a number of landowners between approximately October and January and it did seem at that time as if there was a fairly definite increase in interest," Keating said. "There is a good chance that a number of those landowners are merely exploring all of their options. I don't believe there have been any landowners who have suddenly changed their opinions regarding the Missouri River Recovery Program or the Corps of Engineers, but if the Corps is able to offer them a price that works for them, I think there are some who will be willing to sell their property."

"We are thankful that these landowners are even exploring the possibility and are hopeful to reach agreements that are agreeable and beneficial to all parties," Keating said.

Regarding future property purchases, "a lot will depend on what appraisers say about the market for land in the Missouri River valley in the wake of the flooding, and whether or not landowners agree with their analysis."

Disposition of Nebraska Snowy Owl Carcasses

Several carcasses of the Snowy Owl that have died during their winter sojourn in Nebraska will be mounted or made into study skins.

The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission has about fourteen carcasses, according to Joel Jorgensen, the nongame bird biologist. Those which will not be mounted for placement in agency offices — perhaps 1-2 owls — will be turned over to the University of Nebraska State Museum.

UNSM has received ten carcasses thus far from throughout the state, said Tom Labedz, collections manager. "These specimens are a receipt to prove where the owls were and when."

These specimens can be studied later by researchers, being useful for isotope studies, or evaluation of age and sex of the owls, he said, adding that they can also help provide a "more thorough understanding of the workings of our natural environment."

Labedz is working to get the best possible documentation concerning where and when the dead bird was found. This information will be integrated into the bird collection database, which will eventually be available online.

Those carcasses not kept at this museum, will go to a bird specimen collection in Kansas, he said.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife service has transferred four live snowy owls to Raptor Recovery Nebraska, said Mike George, supervisor of the Ecological Services office in Grand Island.

Any dead specimens are turned over to conservation officers of the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission.

The federal agency also hopes to have one of the owls mounted and kept in their office so it can be used for educational purposes.

Snowy Owls Going to Feather Repository

Some of the Snowy Owls which have died during this winter's irruption from the Arctic, will soon provide culturally significant feathers for use by members of many Native American tribes.

Sia, or the Comanche Nation Ethno-Ornithological Initiative, has so far received only one owl carcass from a South Dakota refuge, according to William Voelker, executive director and co-founder.

Several will be sent from Raptor Recovery Nebraska, according to Betsy Finch, director.

Sia is the only tribal effort that can store feathers for distribution to members of federally recognized tribes throughout the United States.

"The feathers are used for cultural, ceremonial or spiritual needs or purposes," Voelker said. "The snowy owl is a sacred and holy bird to some tribes of the northern Plains" such as the Siouxian, Blackfeet and Crow.

"Wing and tail feathers in the form of a fan are used for doctoring in specific healing ceremonies," Voelker said.

"For many tribes, it is important to be able to use a feather and call on the energy of the bird to connect to the power of a higher energy," Voelker said.

Once the usable feathers are removed, a special ceremony then occurs where the remains are painted with ochre, and bundled for a scaffold or rock-pile disposal, Voelker said. "No bird is ever burned or buried, as this would be an affront to Native American culture."

This method allows the bird's spirit and energy to return to their sky domain.

Few Snowy Owl feathers have previously been available, and those that become available now will allow the initiative to establish a stockpile to fulfill future requests.

Though the group has a special focus on raptors, feathers from most native birds are of interest, as different tribes recognize the unique significance of different species.

Feathers of birds not classified under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act are also distributed by the repository to people who are not members of a federally recognized tribe.

"Our repository has feathers of birds from five continents," Voelker said.

Sia — a Comanche word for feather — was established 36 years ago and is an official program of the Comanche Nation.

Other efforts of the initiative include care and breeding of the Bald Eagle and Golden Eagle, scientific research on the use of plumage by tribal nations, and breeding the Spanish Imperial Eagle in partnership with the Spanish government.

The Initiative operates under authority of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which has issued a permit that allows the possession of items from birds designated by the MBTA.

A two-year evaluation period for the repository is currently underway, which started in June 2010.

Business Alliance Meeting Discusses Fontenelle Park

The February 8th meeting of the Benson-Ames Alliance was devoted to a discussion of the future of Fontenelle Park.

The meeting involved a brief introduction of future options and then a general presentation of suggestions.

John Royster, of the Big Muddy Workshop, was the meeting facilitator. There was also a representative of the Omaha Parks Recreation and Public Property.

Items mentioned by the crowd, included:

1. safety a concern and influences whether people visit
2. want more visibility and more people visiting
3. North High students want trails, soccer fields (that might get placed in the southern extent of the park), and fishing and boating in an enlarged lagoon
4. provide programming and instruction to increase use of the park facilities
5. have a dog park
6. put a nine-hole disc-golf course on the space east of the boulevard
7. support naturalistic uses including a recreated creek into the lagoon, add a biorention garden on the south end, and include a wetland at the lagoon
8. plant flower gardens using native plant species

It was pointed out that the park plan needs to consider those options that are being provided by adjacent programs, such as Northstar. This program already has flat property suitable for soccer, and which could be located near their current outdoor facilities.

In regards to a dog park and disc-golf, these two features are planned for relatively close Levi Carter Park.

A final public meeting on the devised plan will be the evening of February 16th at the park pavilion.

A decision on the future of the golf course would occur soon afterward. There was no information available on when the course would be closed, if that was the decision made by city officials.

A short-fall of $111,000 in 2011, plus additional losses in previous years, is why the future of the golf course is being considered.

About seventeen people were present during the meeting at the park pavilion.

Previous meetings, including public meetings, have been held with Northstar, a "private meeting" attended by people interested in sustainability, and with the Edmundsen Outreach program.

The expected changes associated with the CSO! project would occur in 2015.

Errant Snowy Owls Receive Aid From Raptor Recovery

Since December 2011, Raptor Recovery Nebraska has been trying to help a very few of the errant Snowy Owls survive after their arrival from their normal Arctic haunts.

Only four of the 16 owls received thus far this winter - through early February - are still alive, said Betsy Finch, director of the group with its headquarters in Elmwood.

There have been nearly 200 reported sightings of this species in Nebraska, during this period.

"We haven't had a fat one yet," Finch said in regards to the weight of the owls received through a state-wide network of volunteers who typically care for injured, resident raptors. The birds have been emaciated and weighed two pounds or less, Finch said. Their normal weight is twice this amount. They have been found to be suffering from maladies including starvation, feather mites, or an injury.

Two of the birds have pins in a wing bone, after having been hit by a car, Finch said.

"The owls we are caring for are eating and doing better," she said. "Snowy owls with the best chance to survive end up in the hands of rehabilitators."

The birds being cared for at the group's facilities are all males, Finch noted. Once they gain weight, the large owls will be exercised in a 120-foot long flight pen.

In late-March or early April the surviving owls will be shipped to the Minnesota Raptor Center, Finch said. They will then receive further care with an intent to eventually return them to the wild, at a release point along the Canadian border. Hopefully the birds would then return to their normal Arctic homeland.

The dead Snowy Owls are not being thrown away. Owl, hawk and eagle carcasses are sent by Raptor Recovery Nebraska to SIA, Finch said.

The Comanche Nation Ethno-Ornithological Initiative (SIA) is a feather repository in Cyril Oklahoma. The tribal group distributes feathers for use in ceremonies and other authorized purposes. Unutilized bird material is then apparently buried in an ceremony respective of the bird.

Wetland Restoration Underway at Heron Haven

Work is continuing on a wetland restoration project at Heron Haven. As February 2nd was World Wetland Day, it was a perfect day to visit a place in Omaha where a wetland conservation project is underway.

The wetland at Heron Haven is currently mostly dry, with portions dug up. The weather has been too warm to allow removal of sediment and other earth work. A new oxbow feature is nearly completed.

Canada Geese that were going about their usual breeding season activities will have to temporarily deal with long-term improvement efforts.

Funding for the project was provided by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, through their Section 206 Program, which has a purpose of restoring ecosystems, according to Jeff Greenwald, the Heron Haven project manager for the federal agency. The total $1.1 million expenditure includes $600,000 for implementation and construction, and the remainder for planning and design.

Project objectives, according to Greenwald, include:

• Removal of unwanted invasive plant species;
• Eradicating a monoculture of cattails and reed canary grass;
• Increasing the depth of the wetland waters;
• Improving the diversity of aquatic plants; and
• Improving aesthetics associated with the wetland habitat.

The Papio-Missouri NRD, the owner of the property, approached the Corps about doing the project, Greenwald said.

"We had an opportunity to restore a historic wetland site," said Jim Becic, manager of the PMNRD. He also noted how accessible the site is to the public. The NRD owns the Heron Haven property.

The wetland is a former oxbow of Papillion Creek, and is now an important urban wetland overseen by the Friends of Heron Haven, with Ione Werthman the group's leader and visionary.

Since its inception, Heron Haven has been a significant natural place for the Omaha community. In addition to its natural features - saved from apartment construction - which provide habitat for more than 140 known species of birds, there are other numerous values. It is an environmental learning facility, attractive to many, including school kids.

There are many "friends" of Heron Haven who regularly visit their special place. This includes the Heron Haven Camera Club with its own webpage of photographs.

Werthman is especially proud of the many Boy Scout projects which have been done.

During our visit on World Wetland Day, she was excited about receiving a $10,000 grant from the Becker Family Foundation. Their were no stipulations given on how the money would get used.

One obvious use was placing a windmill to provide a structure to get water into the dragon-fly pond near the nature center. She is looking for a 10-20' tower with all of its parts, and that could be restored. It would provide an iconic feature for the area.

If you have a windmill to donate, contact Heron Haven.

There will soon be some new educational features. Funds from the Marion Payton Memorial are being used to prepare mounts of a mink, woodchuck and raccoon, found as carcasses. An accipiter hawk is also being prepared. Three bat houses were installed last November as a Boy Scout project, and in the coming months they can provide a safe haven for these bugeaters.

A few acres of private property at the southeast corner of the area were purchased by the NRD in spring 2011, protecting an additional extent of the marsh environs. It is currently being "cleaned up."

The wetland restoration project is expected to be finished during early spring. Plant seeding is expected to occur in April once the growing season starts, Greenwald said. A formal ground-breaking for the project was held in November, 2011, as attended by project partners and many other interested people.

Once the project work is completed, ample waterflows from city of Omaha property uphill, will suitably replenish the wetlands. There are six known springs in this exquisite woodland hollow to the east of the north side of the Heron Haven property.

The groundwater never freezes, which is an obvious reason for the sighting of a diminutive Winter Wren while walking about the woods on Thursday.

Heron Haven is a unique natural treasure in urban Omaha, and a special place to visit even if it is not World Wetland Day. Hiking trails are currently closed due to construction activities, but the social whirl continues at the nature center. Once the project is done, get out there, hike about and appreciate the photography blind. Perhaps you might become a volunteer to continue the vision for Heron Haven?

Portion of project plan showing features for the renovated wetland.
Engineering design from Corps of Engineers planning document.

Tribal Theme Popular for Fontenelle Park Future

Emphasizing a tribal heritage associated with its namesake was a popular theme discussed at a recent meeting on the future of Fontenelle Park.

The park in north Omaha was named after Logan Fontenelle, one of the last great chiefs of the Omaha Tribe.

An enthusiast for establishing natural features was the host for 16 people on the evening of January 31st, at a building along Radial Highway. It was an open discussion of ideas and interests for the park, once its use as a golf course is ended. There were no CSO! staff present.

Attendees represented several perspectives, including:

¶ promoting natural land features;

¶ increasing value of the park for wild birds;

¶ green landscape management;

¶ urban gardening;

¶ including features suitable for bees;

¶ utilizing sustainable practices; and

¶ Benson community groups.

About half of the people present had visited Fontenelle Park within the past year.

After a lively discussion of the park and its spaces - with options drawn upon a map of the site - each attendee was asked to express what they would most like to see occur. A summarized list was:

1. reuse lodgepole pine as timber to construct park features
2. provide opportunities for special experiences
3. repurpose the current golf headquarters as a building for urban gardening/education
4. oppose any changes to the topography of the park land
5. promote a tribal heritage concept for the park
6. include history and context of use of native flora
7. take care of the park naturally
8. provide suitable walking trails
9. have an urban prairie, as already conveyed by an effort at Benson Park, near the lagoon
10. use native species of plants
11. have activities for neighbors
12. convey a theme of sustainablity
13. include fruit and nut trees and aspects of urban agriculture
14. have a rain-garden

Also prevalent among the discussion was a poignant need to revitalize the trees along the boulevard. Fontenelle Boulevard is part of a city-wide system of roadways established decades ago. New trees would reinforce this long-time ideal for the thoroughfares which were created to provide a theme of connectivity between major parks in east Omaha.

There are several options to connect the park-space to legacy of the Omaha Tribe and Chief Fontenelle, according to scholarly studies from long ago.

Especially prominent could be flora that could occur. Several species of ceremonial or cultural significance could be grown within the park. Specific prominent species, based upon a review of historic documents, include:

¶ cattail: cultural significance

¶ corn: a cultivated crop which had an important place in the yearly schedule of the tribe

¶ cottonwood tree: an important feature of the Sacred Pole

¶ willow: used to create homes

¶ bur oak: a food source

¶ columbine: ceremonial uses

¶ wild plum: multiple instances of significance to the Omaha Tribe

¶ dogwood: wood used to make arrows

¶ cone flower: a medicinal plant

¶ goldenrod: important in the floral calendar of the tribe; its blooms would indicate when certain important activities should occur

¶ blazing star: important in tribal lore.

This concept can be continued to include birds. Providing suitable habitats would attract those species prominent to the Omaha's, including woodpeckers, the house wren and kingbird, as well as others recognized from among the lore written about the tribe.

Other aspects of a similar theme could include: 1) a contemplation point on the east hillside, where a round area under a pergola would mimic an earthhouse used by the native American tribe, and include five benches made with lodgepole pine wood to represent the historic tribal gentes of the Omaha; the overlook would have a view of the lagoon, representing water, one of the four key elements for the Omaha tribe; 2) a hilltop prairie on the east side with a variety of native grasses and forbs, where wind would be prevalent; 3) a sun garden nearby on the hill featuring a sundial to represent the sun, another of the four key elements for the Omaha; 4) totem woods where rather than clearing away the dying pines, leave stumps of some length and have celebrations to carve and mark them to represent the community. This was a wonderful suggestion shared at the meeting, because of its open and unhindered discussion.

Notable features prominently discussed included a prominent creekway - Omaha Creek was a historic feature at this space, according to the original land survey maps of long ago - from the southern edge of the park into the lagoon, a hilltop prairie, an increase in the extent of trees, a "great field" suitable for recreational activities, an area with nut or other berry-producing trees, a continuation of the sycamore tree line on the east side, and an amphitheater, where current landforms would be suitable.

There was unanimous consent that the chain-link fence around the park should be removed.

If there were to be urban greenhouse facilities, it was suggested that they be located at the northwest corner of the park, and include pine wood in their construction, and that they be built to conform with the hillside terrain.

A hike-bike trail would be included, but no alignment was drawn as this feature could be readily incorporated among the other features. There was strong opposition to having a disc-golf course.

There was an obvious constrict on the discussion ... that the lagoon would be increased in size to provide greater storage for stormwater. This is a seeming requisite established for the Omaha CSO! Project. The water area proposed should include a prominent extent of cattail marsh.

Further meetings on the future of the park will be taking place in the coming days.

On February 8th, the Benson-Ames Alliance will have a mid-day meeting at the pavilion. On the 16th, the Omaha Parks Recreation and Public Property will hosts its third community meeting at the park pavilion to further discuss the the park's future.

This urban park has great potential for a better future. Time will decide its ultimate fate.