Nebraska Game and Parks Commission

 

Date of this Version

7-2003

Document Type

Technical Report

Citation

Rolfsmeier, Steven B. 2003. Vascular Plant Surveys of the Winnebago and Omaha Indian Reservations. Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. 38pp.

Abstract

During the summer of 2000 the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission (NGPC) undertook a vascular plant survey of the Winnebago and Omaha Indian reservations in northeast Nebraska. All funding for the project was provided by the NGPC. The primary objective of the project was to identify all native and exotic plant species growing on the reservations and to identify traditional uses of these plants by the Winnebago, Omaha and HoChunk people. Secondary objectives of the project include: 1) identify rare plant populations, 2) identify high-quality examples of native plant communities and 3) document threats to rare plant populations and native plant communities.

The NGPC contracted with Steve Rolfsmeier, presently with the Chadron State College Herbarium, to conduct the survey. Permission was obtained from the Winnebago and Omaha tribes prior to beginning the survey and accessing tribal lands. Mr. Rolfsmeier spent approximately 400 hours conducting field surveys for this project. Plant surveys were conducted in each plant community type present on the reservations (e.g. forests, wetlands and prairies). Surveys were conducted on foot. All plant species observed during the surveys were recorded along with comments regarding their habitat and abundance on the reservations. Voucher specimens were collected to document occurrence of the species. Information on the traditional uses of the plants by the Winnebago, Omaha and HoChunk people was gathered from Gilmore (Uses of Plants by the Indians of the Missouri River Region. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, reprinted 1977, 125 pp.) and Kindscher and Hurlburt (Huron Smith’s Ethnobotany of the HoChunk (Winnebago). Economic Botany 52:352-392, 1998).

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