Ducks Unlimited helped purchase a property for 577-acre
property for wildlife viewing near Kearny Nebraska. The pull-out area at
Audubon’s Rowe Sanctuary is just west of the Iain Nicolson Audubon Center,
overlooking a wet meadow and portion of the south channel of the Platte River. These
meadows are important habitat for cranes, waterfowl, grassland birds, and many
more animals and insects. They are rich with diversity and important to a
healthy river ecosystem.
The viewing area provides ample parking and features a
viewing fence through which guests can watch cranes that commonly use the
meadow for feeding and as a loafing area.
In addition to Ducks Unlimited, Audubon’s partners on the
project included The Nebraska Environmental Trust, Nebraska Wildlife
Conservation Fund, Nebraska’s Natural Legacy Project, Nebraska Game and Parks
Commission, Platte River Recovery Implementation Program, Central Platte Natural
Resources District, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, Partners for Fish and Wildlife, The Nature Conservancy, Main
Street Design, and Prairie Plains Resource Institute.
“This project isn’t unique,” stated Autumn Taddicken, Rowe’s
Project Manager. “Nearly every conservation success on the Platte River is a
story about conservation organizations, government agencies, private
landowners, donors, volunteers, business, media, and community members coming
together to create positive outcomes for wildlife.”