Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program: Nebraska
Education, Research and Technical Assistance for Managing Our Natural Resources

This project will add approximately 110 additional sample locations in support of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agencies 2011 National Wetland Condition Assessment. A network of assessment sample locations will be established in 11 different Nebraska wetland complexes and these will be used to track changes to the health and condition of Nebraska’s wetlands. Cooperators of this project represent 17 different agencies and organizations. In the years 2011 to 2013, a field team will visit each sample location and collect wetland assessment data. The data collection methods will conform to the protocol established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The indicators that we are considering for assessment include vegetation, algae, macroinvertebrates, amphibians, water quality, soils, and hydrology. Data will enable the evaluation of seasonal and annual changes in wetland condition. Outcomes of this project will be an improved understanding of the condition of Nebraska’s wetlands that can be used to target wetland conservation efforts, track changes in invasive species distribution, evaluate potential climate change effects on wetlands, and describe the range of reference conditions for key and vulnerable wetland complexes in the state that are also representative of many wetlands throughout the Great Plains.