Begging for Rain--TRIP 3 (2012)

"They keep bankers' hours," said Andy as we drove through the Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge, 19,131 acres in north-central Nebraska. He was talking about the prairie dogs. We had stopped briefly on the way in for a map.
Ranger Steve recommended the trail at Fort Falls and the stairs down to the waterfall.  Here, water spills into the Niobrara River below. The river begins in the high plains of eastern Wyoming as a trickle and flows 535 miles to join the Missouri. The Ponca and Omaha Indians named it Ni obhatha Ke, the spreading water river.

Trees line the Niobrara River bank at
Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge.

Ranger Steve said, "You'll probably see the bison in the field out toward Elk Pasture. Those are the ones going to market next week.  The main herd should be visible from the Scenic Overlook." He pointed out the black areas on the map. "Those are all the prairie dog towns."

Fort Falls flows downhill into the
Niobrara River; the trail follows the stream. 

But in the next half hour as we drove along the gravel road, we didn't see a single prairie dog. Dition Pasture should have been alive with activity.  All we saw was a lonely hawk circling overhead.  He too was looking for the action. More than 230 species of birds are attracted to Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge for resting, feeding or nesting. Since the refuge is near the geographic center of North America, the 100th Meridian that runs north and south through the Niobrara River Valley, it is crossed in many directions by migrating birds.

Bison graze on the other side of the Niobrara River

At Fort Falls, we took the stairs to a beautiful waterfall. Plenty of water from seeps in the hills and the high water table fed the falls, and below it the Niobrara River flowed with a strong current. We spotted one solitary male buffalo grazing on the hillside in the trees across the river. In spite of freezing fingers, I snapped pictures at every turn of the .9-mile trail. Brown and yellow leaves of birch and cottonwood contrasted with the green of eastern red cedar and western ponderosa pine. An area of great diversity, the Niobrara River Valley climate, geology and topography blend eastern and western animal and plant species. At least 83 eastern species reach their western range limits here, and 47 western species approach their eastern limits in the valley.
Returning toward the Visitor Center, we saw the head of one lone prairie dog. "So I guess they really DO live here," I joked. "The hawk is gone, but it hasn't warmed up much."
"It's just pretty cold for them at this hour, I guess," Andy said.
That may well have been true.  When we started out this morning, temperatures hovered around 33 degrees with a light breeze about 5 m.p.h.  By 10:00 a.m. a bright sun warmed the land slightly, but bitter 30 to 40 m.p.h. winds whipped across the prairie.  Huge clouds of dust carried on the wind darkened the sky where farmers plowed fields. "That's what planting winter wheat prevents," said Andy.

Little autumn color remains in this beautiful place
because of the dryness.

Back at the Visitor Center, Ranger Steve told us about the bison herd. "We cull every year," he explained. "Fifty or so are going to market. That's about normal or maybe a little lower than usual. We select genetically.  There are a few older females we have kept because they may still drop a calf every couple of years.  That provides genetic divergence. And we share males with other refuges."  He told us this herd had never had any evidence of brucellosis, so farmers here never had any issue with the presence of buffalo.
Andy and I browsed in the museum. Fossils from more than 20 extinct mammal species found here were on display, including the long-jawed mastodon, giant bison and three-toed horse, animals that roamed here between 12,000 and 13 million years ago.

The trail climbs to a high point over the river.

Fort Niobrara, built in the late 1800's, was only a memory. Four companies of Buffalo soldiers were stationed here in 1879, and in the 1890's regiments of African Americans from the fort were among the very best in the Army. The fort had been established in 1879 to keep the peace between settlers and Sioux Indians and to control cattle rustlers and horse thieves.  But little remains of the fort today.
Concern in the early 1900's about the exploitation of wildlife and their habitats on the Great Plains prompted President Theodore Roosevelt to sign an Executive Order on January 11, 1912, establishing Fort Niobrara as a "preserve and breeding ground for native birds." Later that year, the purpose was expanded to include the conservation of bison and elk herds representative of those that once roamed the Great Plains.

Solitary male bison graze undisturbed
near Scenic Overlook.

We drove out toward the Scenic Overlook. We didn't see any of the approximately 70 elk. But three large male bison, part of the herd of about 350 animals, crossed the road as we crawled forward. "They look so placid and content," said Andy. I gingerly rolled down the window for pictures. "But I certainly wouldn't want to test their unpredictability."
We stopped at the overlooks. Here on top of the plateau ridge overlooking the Niobrara River Valley, the wind, probably 30 or 40 m.p.h., gusted in ferocious blasts.  "Brutal," said Andy. We had had enough of winter.

Cub Creek broadens into a series of small lakes
at the Cub Creek Recreation area.

Cub Creek State Recreation Area had a beautiful pond and lovely picnic facilities, but the road in was so poorly maintained we drove only on the top edges. If Andy had followed the ruts, Little Red would have bottomed out. We held our breaths and rolled slowly. "They don't maintain their roads at all," said Andy. "Most people probably drive trucks, but the Nebraska state dirt roads are terrible."
In our drive eastward towards Norfolk, we passed one farmer with three large corn cribs. They were totally empty. "One has weeds growing in it," noticed Andy.
Outside of Atkinson stood a large ethanol plant. "If corn suffered so severely from the drought," I said, "I'd think the ethanol industry would get hit hard."
"Yup," agreed Andy. "And that's definitely a processing plant."
We read later that Nebraska has the worst exceptional drought of any state in the country. Almost three quarters of the state is exceptional, worse than extreme.
Neligh has a hospital, a historical old flour mill, a park with a camouflaged airplane and tank, but no big motel--or we missed it.  And Nebraska charges for all state facilities. I don't remember any other state that charges all year, all hours, in all parks. The old mill had a broken window. A neon sign flashed Open, but the main sign said Closed Labor Day. They charged; we didn't stop.
By the time we drove through town, the clouds had moved in. "This could pass for a winter sky," said Andy. The wind howled and Little Red shook. He clutched the steering wheel tighter every time a truck approached from the other direction. I could feel the vibrations. "It's not cold enough to snow, but that wind is wicked," he said, as a cattle truck went by. "Winter is blowing in!"
Odd, I thought. the wind was out of the southwest.
Norfolk, a town of 24,210 people, has a big community college. A stable community with lots of newer houses, Norfolk has streets all made of concrete. We checked out the town, even the dam and the park.  "It's greener in Phoenix," said Andy. "This is sad. They need rain in the worst way."