Prairie chickens reunite a Nebraska family

May 19, 2017 by CarolPatterson Leave a Comment

If your house guest told you how to make more money, would you listen?

I’ve had guests tell me how to plant flowers or get a better deal on Stampede tickets but never a suggestion on how to make lots more money. But Sarah Sortum (nee Switzer) got such a tip. A visitor to her family farm in the Nebraska Sandhills said people would pay to see prairie chickens and sage grouse if they had any on the farm.

If a house guest told you how to make more $ would you listen?

Would you bet your future on a wild bird?

The Switzer Ranch is a long ways from airports and urban centres. They like it that way but were skeptical that people would make the trip and pay for the privilege of bird watching on their ranch.

Bird watchers generate economic benefits

Sarah wanted to move home with her husband and children and needed an income source so she was willing to take a risk even if betting her future on a wild bird wasn’t conventional business wisdom.

If you’re wondering whether the gamble paid off, read the full story here.

how betting the family farm on prairie chickens paid off

A creature with the charisma of a tax accountant

If you’re not sure what a prairie chicken looks like, you’re not alone. Once plentiful on the North American prairies, they’ve become less and less common. The land that prairie chickens like is also the land we like but too often we can’t co-exist. So when nature lovers find a undisturbed prairie habitat with prairie chickens they know a great show is close by.

For most of the year this little bird has the charisma of a tax accountant (sorry, tax accountants) but come mating season, the prairie chicken puts on an impressive drumming display that bird watchers love to see.

See what the fuss is about

Sandhill cranes one of North America’s greatest wildlife migrations

March 12, 2016 by CarolPatterson Leave a Comment

Ever wonder what wildlife viewing was like when John Muir and Aldo Leopold were alive?

I have and wondered if it’s possible to see a fraction of what they witnessed before economic growth and urbanization destroyed many wild areas.

It turns out you can still get an inkling of what they felt when surrounded by a large biomass of living creatures. Each spring hundreds of thousands of Sandhill Cranes pass over Nebraska’s Platte River. By mid-March thousands of cranes are gathered along the river and in neighboring fields and photographers and birdwatchers flock to the area (pun intended).

Two years ago, I huddled on a wooden bench as the cold sunk into my bones, squinting through a small opening in a wildlife blind as cranes landed on the dark marsh. The guttural cries of several thousand Sandhill Cranes washed over me and made my birdwatcher’s heart smile. I wasn’t too late to see one of North America’s greatest migrations!

The cranes stay in Nebraska for several weeks to add much-needed body weight before flying north to breed. When they arrive in their nesting areas it may be weeks before the food becomes easily available.

The best places to see the cranes are between Kearney and Grand Island, Nebraska including:

Iain Nicolson Audubon Rowe Sanctuary near Gibbon is ground zero for crane watching with tours and viewing blinds that get you close to the birds without disturbing them. http://rowe.audobon.org
The Crane Trust Nature & Visitor Center in Alda also has blinds for great viewing. http://cranetrust.org
To learn more about cranes come for the Audubon Nebraska’s Crane Festival and enjoy lectures, a play and tours. https://nebraskacranefestival.org
Don’t miss the chance to sample Laotian cuisine at the Vientiane Restaurant in Grand Island. The flavors will stay with you as long as memories of the cranes.

To see how it feels to sit among thousands of cranes watch my video click here.

The migration usually lasts until mid April. If you are wondering if it is worth traveling all the way to Nebraska to see a bunch of birds, consider that Dr. Jane Goodall loves to watch the crane migration. If one of the greatest animal lovers on the planet considers it worth her time to visit Nebraska, perhaps you should too!

Carol

Nebraska State Parks Provide Vitamin N(ature)

December 9, 2014 by CarolPatterson Leave a Comment

Most people – even young children – spend as much time in front of a screen as they do sleeping each day. You might think cuddling indoors with a computer is harmless, but new research shows your health improves with time in nature.
But how does Mother Nature compete with mega-malls and computer games? Perhaps we need things outside to be as exciting as on a video game. The Missouri River is North America’s longest river and was the backdrop for the great Lewis and Clarks’ Corp of Discovery Expedition. Homesteaders followed and settled along the fertile Missouri watershed. My ancestors were so inspired by the river they named my great, great aunt after it.

Now a new generation of Park Managers is using the Missouri River to plug people into nature. Mark Rettig, superintendent for Nebraska’s Niobrara State Park, says people arrive with a backseat full of videos and kids clambering to watch them. When they discover the park’s nineteen cabins lack televisions or consistent cell phone service, they wonder how they will fill their time. “We tell them to go turn over a rock and see what insects live underneath,” Rettig says, “And you wouldn’t believe how many kids have never made s’mores.” So there are s’more making lessons and afternoons at the pool. I enjoyed the trails near the river, looking for birds fleeing Canada’s cold weather. Supper was a buffalo cookout and a living history presentation that made me appreciate modern conveniences even while taking a break from them.

Further down the river, Ponca State Park has an education program that will engage even the most reluctant outdoorswoman. I signed up for archery lessons and felt like Robin Hood after shooting tips from Tyler Wulf, Assistant Superintendent. I passed up the chance to shoot a rifle or toss a tomahawk, opting instead to kayak the Missouri. The 95 kilometers near the park border is free flowing, not channelized, and looks much like when Lewis and Clark paddled it. I knew however I was only a couple of hours from a very comfortable lodge and training on how to start a fire with flint (although I could cheat with matches if needed).

Jeff Fields, Park Superintendent, encourages creativity from his staff and all ideas for new programs are considered. The biggest success has been the annual Missouri River Outdoor Expo a two-day bonanza of outdoor fun for 52,000 people from 27 states. “The first year we had eight inches of rain (20 centimeters) and still 4,500 people showed up,” Wulf commented on the event’s success, “We knew we had something.” Ten years later, registration for the pre-expo School day sold out in thirty minutes!

The Missouri Outdoor Expo includes a Grunt, Gobble & Growl contest where people imitate the animal of their choice. Dog lovers can watch the aquatic competition where dogs – some in life jackets – throw themselves off the dock in an attempt to jump the longest. Kids can compete in the gourmet s’more contest, while their parents sample wine. Yes, wine is grown in Nebraska and provides a soothing end to a busy day.

I missed the Expo but was kept hopping at Ponca, trying to decide between hiking and learning to fish. Time on the trails won out – I figured I could always get take-out – but checking my email seemed less attractive.

As Rettig summed up, “when people leave the park, they admit they enjoyed being away from their screens.” Like me, they have forgotten what it is like to be unplugged. Thanks to a new generation of parks personnel, it is easier to connect to nature. I understood better why my great, great aunt was called Missouri and vowed to spend more time in mega-nature.

Missouri Connections

November 12, 2014 by CarolPatterson Leave a Comment

If You Decide To Go:

Niobrara State Park has rustic cabins overlooking the Missouri River and many outdoor activities. Ponca State Park offers deluxe accommodations along with the Missouri National Recreational River Resource and Education Center www.OutdoorNebraska.org RV facilities are found at both parks.

To learn more about the Missouri River stop at the Lewis & Clark Missouri River Visitor’s Center http://www.mrb-lewisandclarkcenter.org

Carol Patterson inspires everyday explorers within organizations. When she isn’t travelling for work, Carol is travelling for fun. More of her adventures can be found at www.carolpatterson.ca

Myths of the Old West

August 12, 2014 by CarolPatterson Leave a Comment

Was the Wild West really wild? Watching John Wayne westerns as a child, I believed early North American settlers faced constant peril from gunslingers, Cheyenne ambushes, and stagecoach robberies.
The west was not a California sound stage or even the most westerly of states. It included many places in the Midwest that have much duller reputations today. I recently set off on a press trip to Nebraska, home of the Platte River Road and Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show, to uncover the truth.

During the mid 1800s, approximately 400,000 American settlers moved west from Missouri on the Platte River Road to Oregon, Utah and California. For the emigrants crossing Nebraska western life was dangerous, but not from violence. Although some people died in fights with Sioux or Cheyenne warriors, many more died from cholera, accidental gun discharges or trying to cross a river with eight oxen, a wagon and no swimming skills. As I wandered among the exhibits at Chimney Rock Historic Site, it seemed settlers were more likely to describe the crossing as difficult, but tedious, with each day bringing more walking, insects and hard tack biscuits.

The Pony Express is perhaps one of the most enduring symbols of the Wild West. Nebraska had more miles of Pony Express trail than any other state and celebrates the partnership of horse and rider at a monument in Sidney, Nebraska. I felt like I was being told there was no Easter Bunny again, when local historian and City Manager, Gary Person explained that the Pony Express, an enduring symbol of the Wild West, was only in existence for eighteen months and was hailed by some as merely a publicity stunt. Three gentlemen hoping to secure a government contract for mail delivery started the Pony Express. Riders carrying mail raced from Missouri to California on horses, changing horses every sixteen kilometers or ten miles. Riders were not grizzled cowboys, but twelve to thirteen year old boys, light as modern-day jockeys, asked to sign an oath swearing they would abstain from alcohol, swearing, and fighting. Orphans were preferred; perhaps because riders were not issued guns, instead, they were instructed to outrun interlopers!

Train robberies really did happen in the Wild West, but not as often as I thought. Union Pacific Railways was first robbed in 1877 at Big Springs, Nebraska. When bandits discovered there was more money on trains than stagecoaches, they started attacking people on rails. Train companies got tired of losing money and hired the newly formed Pinkerton security company to be badder than the bad guys. Within in a decade, train robberies became much less common.

But there was one place were the west was truly wild. Sidney, Nebraska became a major staging area from 1875 to 1891 for people seeking gold in the South Dakota’s black hills. There were eighty legal saloons on Front Street, brothels and an all-night theater. There was lynching and murders – 56 during this time period – earning the town the moniker “Wicked Sidney”. Three local newspapers struggled to keep up with the reports of the debauchery, popular with readers in eastern states.

Sidney had one sheriff for the town and a county area that was larger than some eastern states. Lawlessness prevailed and The Union Pacific Railway, tired of the violence, told the town they had to restore order or they would no longer stop there. A notice was posted telling all criminals to get out of town or risk hanging. The threat was so successful that nearby Dodge City, Kansas adopted it, creating the line made famous on the television show, Gunsmoke. “Get out of Dodge was based on policy started in Sidney, but get out of Sidney doesn’t sound as good,” said historian and Sidney City Manager, Gary Person. Today, Sidney is home to Cabela’s, a large hunting and outdoor recreation retailer, the new face of the Wild West.

So, I’m curious, what myths have you uncovered in your work? Anything that reaffirmed your faith in the story you were told or did you discover that more exploration gave you a new worldview?

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