Freshwater and Saline Flood Plain Wetlands of the North Platte River - Sources and Seasonal Dynamics: Kiowa Wildlife Management Area, Morrill, NE

Authors

Anne M. Matherne, University of Nebraska - Lincoln

Citation

Matherne, Anne M. Undated. Freshwater and Saline Flood Plain Wetlands of the North Platte River - Sources and Seasonal Dynamics: Kiowa Wildlife Management Area, Morrill, NE. Conservation and Survey Division. University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. 150 pp.

Abstract

The Kiowa Wildlife Management Area (WMA), a 1 mi² wetland and upland on the North Platte River, was acquired by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission (NGPC) in 1993. The WMA comprises two distinct wetland types, alkaline and freshwater, both of which provide important wildlife habitat. It was the goal of this project to understand the hydrology controlling the development and maintenance of these wetlands in order to anticipate the affect of management strategies on the wetland complex. The study was designed to develop a comprehensive picture of the hydrogeology of both the fresh and alkaline portions of the WMA, with an emphasis on the processes forming and maintaining both wetland components. Specifically, the aims were to:

1) Establish groundwater flow patterns and fluctuations throughout the WMA;

2) Establish the role of bedrock surface morphology in channeling groundwater and in forming groundwater seeps;

3) Determine the mechanism for salt marsh formation;

4) Discuss results with respect to implications for management and for other riparian wetland sites.