Returning Wetlands to the Missouri

More than 80 years of trying to stabilize and contain the mighty Missouri River hasn't left much room for the natural wetlands many wildlife species need to thrive. Moves are now being taken to reverse that trend.

From Sioux City to St. Louis, efforts are underway to restore lost riverine habitat for the benefit of both wildlife and people.

One of the first of these projects in Nebraska is Hamburg Bend, a 1,629-acre wetland on the west bank of the Missouri River near Nebraska City. With Mother Nature's helping hand, Hamburg Bend became one of the state's first created wetlands much faster than its creators had ever imagined it would.

The wetland was formed where the river bends slightly, just south of Nebraska City. Inside the knee of the bend, a pilot channel, or chute was dug to allow water from the river to naturally flow through the area, saturating and at least partially flooding it. Dikes along the channel were lowered last year allow river water to flow through the area to increase fish habitat.

Shortly after the channel was completed, Mother Nature provided more than enough water to fill it and flood the surrounding land.

"Flooding in 1996 just pretty much completed the project naturally," said Gerald Mestl, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, Fisheries Division, Missouri River Program Manager.

"Stabilizing the river has been an important engineering accomplishment over the last 80 years, but it's still pleasing to see how nature is still in control and can retake portions of the river with a little help," said Mestl of Hamburg Bend.

The wetland was created by the game and parks commission, with cooperation from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

"Hamburg Bend is just one project to restore wetlands into the active erosion zone of the Missouri River," said Mestl. The active erosion zone is more than 360,000 acres of historic natural river channel lying within the flood plain of the now channelized river basin.

"The goal was to diversify the habitat of the bend to make it more conducive to fish and wildlife," said Mestl. The area will be left largely in its natural state and will eventually be designated a state wildlife management area.

Migratory birds use different types of wetlands for specific habitat and nutritional needs during their migrations. Some birds prefer swamps and others like potholes, for example. Some stop in wetlands for nesting purposes, others for wintering and still others for just short periods to refuel or to mate on the way to northern nesting grounds.

Other created, or restored Missouri River wetland areas include Boyer Chute, near Fort Calhoun (see related article in this tabloid) and the Schilling Wildlife Management Area at the confluence of the Platte and Missouri Rivers, near Plattsmouth.

"Schilling has been particularly successful and has become a favorite area for catfishing and waterfowl hunting," said Mestl. It also is known for its diverse aquatic habitat which has been conducive increases in population of the threatened Pallid Sturgeon.

Four other sites in Nebraska's Missouri River floodplain are also being looked at for possible wetland restoration projects, he said.

These and similar projects in other states bordering the Missouri were brought about with passage of The Water Resources and Development Act of 1986. The act authorized a mitigation package of nearly 30,000 acres, which represents about six percent of the natural habitat lost in the active erosion zone of the river.

These losses occurred from seven acts of Congress, beginning in 1912, that became known as the Missouri River Bank Stabilization and Navigation Project. The project emphasized flood control and navigability of the river over preservation of natural habitat and flow of the river.

"One of the end results of all those years of channelizing the river was we may have restricted and encroached upon it too much. We needed to give something back in order for the form and function of the river to survive," said Mestl; "That's a message Mother Nature keeps sending us, flood after flood.

Created and restored wetlands along the river will do much to recreate the Missouri's natural ecosystem and help determine what future generations will inherit tomorrow, he said.