Rowe Sanctuary works in cooperation with
several conservation organizations to provide cranes optimum roosting
sites on the river. In the fall and winter, heavy machinery is utilized to
recreate what mother nature can no longer do.
Managing the Platte
River for Cranes
According to some historical accounts, the
Platte River was "a mile wide and a inch deep". Wetlands and wet meadows
bordered the Platte to capture and hold water that escaped past its banks,
and tallgrass prairie bordered the wetlands and wet
meadows. Each spring, snow melt from the Rockies would provide
scouring flows that removed new vegetation that grew on sandbars during
the previous growing season.
Today, reduced flows in the river make it necessary
for mechanical clearing to maintain wide channels and open sandbars that
cranes prefer. A Klearway is used to remove woody vegetation on
established islands, by essentially chewing up everything in its path.
Once the island has been cleared, then it is disked
in order to inhibit the woody growth even further.
This process must be repeated over time,
otherwise the island will disappear in trees.
Dealing with Invasives
With each passing year, management work
within the river channel has become more difficult due to invasive plants.
Non-native species such as purple loosestrife and phragmites have spread
at an alarming rate in the Platte River valley, with salt cedar becoming a
major concern as well. All three of the plants mentioned remove an
incredible amount of water from the river, while at the same time choking
out native vegetation. Rowe Sanctuary is working with local, state
and federal agencies to combat this ever growing threat to the Platte
River Basin.
The Importance of Prairie & Wet Meadows
Prairie and wet meadows in the
Platte River Valley have decreased over time, but still play an important
role during the sandhill crane's stay here in March and early April.
The cranes utilize these areas for feeding, loafing, and as secondary
roost sites.
Prairie Management
Native prairie is defined as land that has never been
cultivated and consists of
grasses and flowering plants (forbs) that were originally found in that
region. Rowe Sanctuary has two tracts of native prairie and two
areas that have been restored.
The native areas are managed by haying,
grazing, and prescribed burns. This is done on a rotational basis,
with each practice benefiting the prairie.
The restored areas are enrolled in
conservation programs, one in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), and
the other in the Wetland Reserve Program (WRP). The purpose of these
two programs is to restore marginal cropland back to prairie and wetlands,
respectively.
