Niobrara National Scenic River ⓘ

The earliest signs of human presence along the Niobrara are found 150 miles upstream of the scenic river. The Hudson-Meng Bison Kill Site contains the disjointed bones of over 600 extinct Bison Antiquus, which makes it the largest known bison bonebed in the world. Archaeologists have also found a number of Alberta type spearpoints from a period 9000 to 9800 years ago at this site. These points are characteristic of the Alberta Culture of the Paleo-Indian period. It is unclear exactly what impact these early peoples had on creating this site, as it is unclear if they either killed these bison all at once by driving the herd off a cliff, or if these bison were killed near the same spot yar after year. Additionally, scientists suggest that it is even possible that these bison died because of a natural disaster, like a wildfire or flood. Regardless of what created this site, the presence of spearpoints indicates that bison have been integral to the lifestyles of the peoples who have lived in this area for thousands of years.

During the Archaic period (2000 to 8000 years ago), American Indians used numerous sites in the Niobrara valley where they relied on a variety of small game and plant materials. The people of the Plains Woodland period (1000 to 2000 years ago) added the manufacture and use of pottery to their lifestyle. Through the Plains Village, Central Plains Tradition, and Coalescent Tradition periods (250 to 2500 years ago), these people began building semi-permanent earth lodges and supplementing their gathering with agriculture.

Over the last several hundred years, numerous tribes lived in and passed through the Niobrara valley. Some tribes traveled through the Niobrara valley while following the bison, namely the nomadic Lakota and Pawnee. The Plains Comanche were also present at this time. While nomadic, these peoples were not necessarily wandering around the Plains; instead, they returned year after year to places like the Niobrara valley with the bison.

The Ponca claim the Niobrara valley as their homeland. The Ponca built their earth lodges near the mouth of the Niobrara after separating from the Omaha in the early 1700s. Here they raised corn and launched hunting expeditions for big game. While there were prolonged conflicts between the Ponca and other tribes, like the Comanche and Lakota, they were motivated primarily by access to resources. As a result, warfare between tribes looked different than the warfare that westward expansion would bring in later years because it was rarely motivated by desire for conquest.

During the 19th century, the United States government sought to define which tribes owned different lands so that settlers could move west into newly opened territory. The Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851 divided the Sandhills and Niobrara valley between the Lakota and Pawnee, leaving only a little territory for the Ponca. The Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851 was flawed because it did not honor the cultural differences between the Native Americans and the United States, notably the language barrier and different conceptions of what land ownership meant to both groups. As a result, the 1851 Treaty did not establish a lasting peace or effective resolution for conflicts over the land.

In addition to writing treaties, the United States government sanctioned the extermination of bison herds to clear the land for settlement and for ranching. Because bison and cattle occupied the same spaces in the grasslands, they would not coexist well together. Additionally, the Native peoples of the area followed the bison, and the settlers would not coexist with the Native Americans either. As a result, the bison populations of the Great Plains were decimated, as millions of bison were slaughtered in a matter of decades. This destroyed many traditional Native lifeways and sent many tribes into poverty, as their cultures relied heavily on bison herds for food and supplies.

While the 1851 Treaty established Pawnee rights to a significant portion of land near the Niobrara River, encroachments by settlers and the destruction of bison herds made it difficult to survive on their reservation. In 1857, the Pawnee ceded 14 million acres for $200,000 in annuities to secure their survival, leaving only a small reservation for themselves. They were later relocated to Oklahoma in 1877 with other tribes as the United States government sought to consolidate Native Americans in Indian Territory.

Because the 1851 Treaty did not establish a suitable peace, war broke out between the United States government and the Lakota between 1866 and 1868. The Lakota ultimately won the war, and the resulting 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty established a large reservation, called the Great Sioux Reservation. This territory included land along the Niobrara River which the government had promised to the Ponca in 1858. The inclusion of this territory intensified conflicts between the Ponca and the Lakota, but the government did not respond to the Ponca’s requests for assistance until 1877 when they forcibly expelled the Ponca from the reservation to send them to Indian Territory in Oklahoma.

James MacKay, a fur trader working for a Spanish company, visited the region in 1795 and 1796. He later described the sandhills as a “Grand Desert of moving sand where there are neither wood, nor soil, nor stone, nor water, nor animals, except some little tortoises of various colors.”

Various army expeditions in the 1850s and 1860s explored possible wagon and rail routes, although no wagon trail was ever developed.

The Treaty of 1868 created the Great Sioux Reservation north of the Niobrara River in Dakota Territory. Over the next two decades, the U.S. Army proceeded to surround the reservation with a ring of forts to monitor the tribes.

Construction of Fort Niobrara, the southernmost of the forts, began in 1879 on a well-watered, well timbered site selected by General George Crook. This was close enough to monitor the Sioux, but far enough to avoid accidental friction between the tribes and the troops. The soldiers constructed a steam-powered sawmill to cut lumber and made adobe bricks. The fort was laid out in a standard military pattern with barracks and stables on one side of the parade ground and officers’ quarters on the other.

The soldier's daily routines were relatively peaceful; soldiers drilled, worked at construction and maintenance of the fort itself and shipped beef and supplies to the Rosebud Reservation. The fort served as an embarkation point for troops responding to the Pine Ridge outbreak, which culminated in the Wounded Knee massacre of 1890. Among the units stationed at Fort Niobrara were the African American troops of the 9 th Cavalry. While stationed at Fort Niobrara, soldiers provided "notes" to the local newspapers. The "Bulge Notes from the Fort " gives insight to the soldier’s daily life and social woes and triumphs.

Cattlemen from south of the sandhills were the first Euro-Americans to spend any great length of time in the sandhills and to extensively exploit the central Niobrara River area.

In the 1870s, using Texas cattle, Mexican cattle-raising methods, and the free grass of the plains, a small number of men profited from the open range of the sandhills and the Niobrara River valley. They found a ready market at the military forts where the army purchased cattle to supply the Indian reservations.

The deep ravines and canyons along the Niobrara River provided ideal places to hide stolen cattle, and cattlemen’s associations and vigilante groups were formed to curb the rustling.

Federal and local regulations began to restrict the free range, but it took the farmer to settle the sandhills, change ranching, and convert a frontier to a state. While the eastern third of the state was populated in the 1850s, it would be another thirty years before the central Niobrara Valley was settled.

Cherry County’s first homesteader, Charles Sears, staked his claim ten miles east of Valentine and received his patent in 1886. Niels Nielsen, a Danish immigrant, estimated that a sod house cost about $50 to build, and a wood-frame house cost $250 to build in 1889. $272 in materials would build the two miles of barbed-wire fence to enclose a 160 acre quarter-section homestead. Promoters and developers made dubious claims regarding the productivity of the land and amount of rainfall, leading to a high failure rate among homesteaders who tried their hand at dry-land farming.

One animal unit (cow and unweaned calf) requires from 10 to 30 acres of grazing in this rangeland, so a traditional 160 acre homestead could only support from 5 to 16 head of breeding stock – not a profitable number. In 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt signed the Kincaid Act, increasing the size of a western Nebraska homestead to 640 acres, a full square mile section. This acreage proved more practical for the type of prairie range present in the area, and made ranching a more attractive prospect than attempting to grow crops.

Between 1900 and 1935, the average sandhills ranch had doubled in size from 640 to 1280 acres. However, as ranches increased in size to over 4000 acres by the end of the 1900s, population steadily declined, with 1990 census counts lower than those of 1890. In some respects, the area is returning to its frontier phase as sparsely populated rangeland.

Amid the wide variety of natural settings, people have built many structures that now have historic significance, reminding us that life on the prairie could be an adventure and a challenge, as well as an opportunity.

Rivers connect animals to ecosystems, people to nature, and communities to cities. Rivers have been used as highways and byways for generations. Canoes, kayaks, and tubes join a long history of vessels used to travel and transport goods along waterways. Along with vessels, bridges crisscross the Niobrara in several places.

The Niobrara itself could be an obstacle to commerce and travel. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, iron and steel bridges were built on state and county roads. Many of these historic spans are still in use today. These bridges also serve as landmarks for floaters on the Niobrara National Scenic River. For a deeper look at the various bridges that connect the north and south banks of the Niobrara view the Bridges of the Niobrara article.

The Treaty of 1868 created the Great Sioux Reservation north of the Niobrara in Dakota Territory. Over the next two decades, the U.S. Army proceeded to surround the reservation with a ring of forts to monitor the tribes.

Fort routine was relatively peaceful; soldiers drilled, worked at construction and maintenance of the fort itself and shipped beef and supplies to the Rosebud Reservation. The fort served as an embarkation point for troops responding to the Pine Ridge outbreak, which culminated in the Wounded Knee massacre of 1890. Among the units stationed at Fort Niobrara were the African American troops of the 9th Cavalry .

The fort was closed in 1906, but served as a remount station until 1911. Today, all that remains of Fort Niobrara are a hay barn, some old foundations and memories of the ring of bugle calls and the thunder of hooves that once rode the prairie wind.

On May 13, 1909, Mr. C.H. Cornell of Valentine, Nebraska, contracted the Kansas City, Missouri, engineering firm of W.K. Palmer Company to survey a site near the confluence of the Niobrara and Minnechaduza Rivers, and to prepare a report and drawings of a possible dam and power generating plant at that site. The dam and plant were built around 1915, although not to the scale suggested by the 1909 report. They were operated as a private utility until the early 1940s, when Nebraska adopted public power districts statewide. The Nebraska Public Power District operated the structures, called the Cornell Dam and Niobrara Hydroelectric Generating Station, until 1985. In 1986, the public power district turned the land and structures over to the United States Department of the Interior, and they became part of the Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge.

Numerous structures and sites are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Follow the links below.

Also visit our “ Parks & Museums ” page for links to historic sites that now house fascinating local museums.

The Niobrara River is known for its beauty, biological significance, and paleontological resources, and is enjoyed as a superb canoeing river of the northern Great Plains. In 1991, Congress designated 76 miles of the Niobrara east of Valentine, Nebraska, as part of the National Wild and Scenic River system —a river that merits special protection and recognition.

The Niobrara River begins in the high plains of eastern Wyoming and flows 535 miles to its confluence with the Missouri River in northeastern Nebraska near the town of Niobrara. Hundreds of springs feed the Niobrara as it flows through the Sandhills region—one of the largest grass-stabilized dune regions in the world. The Niobrara River drains 12,600 square miles in Nebraska and cuts through several rock formations including the Ash Hollow, Valentine, Rosebud, and Pierre. These unique geological formations include fossils of many mammalian species including beaver, horse, rhinoceros, and mastodons; as well as fossils of fish, alligators, and turtles.

Waterfalls occur where streams flowing into the Niobrara run over the erosion-resistant Rosebud formation. Over 230 waterfalls occur along the westernmost part of the Niobrara, including the state's highest—Smith Falls, which plunges approximately 63 feet before flowing several hundred yards into the river. Some waterfalls trickle playfully into the river, while others are found on tributary streams hidden within shady side canyons.

In north central Nebraska, the 100th Meridian splits the middle of the Niobrara River Valley. Here humid eastern and dry western air masses collide, creating a unique mixing zone for several species of plants and animals. Six major ecosystem types converge in the valley, including northern boreal forest, western coniferous forest, eastern deciduous forest, tallgrass prairie, mixed-grass prairie, and Sandhills prairie (a distinct type of mixed-grass prairie). Approximately 160 plant and animal species are found at the edge of their distributional ranges here, and several bird species such as indigo and lazuli buntings, and Baltimore and Bullock's orioles have been known to hybridize in the valley.

A diverse array of avian life inhabits the Niobrara Valley. Five western species reach their eastern limits in the valley, while six northern oriented species reach their southern limits in the valley. The central reach of the Niobrara River is ecologically significant because it serves as an east-west avian corridor and important meeting ground, especially for forest dependent species. Hybridization of eastern and western associated species, such as indigo and lazuli buntings, yellow-shafted and red-shafted flickers, and Baltimore and Bullock's orioles are vivid testament of the biological uniqueness of the Scenic River.

Outdoor enthusiasts are likely to encounter great blue herons peering intently into the water; green herons, cormorants, and white pelicans migrating through the river valley during the spring; spotted sandpipers bobbing along sandbars; or kingfishers plunging from an overhanging branch to catch a minnow beneath the water's surface.

The Niobrara is home to several state and federally listed threatened or endangered bird species. Peregrine falcons, once an endangered species, migrate through Nebraska in late April and early May and in September and October. Falcons prey on small mammals and are found near marshes, cropland, and grasslands. Current studies by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are documenting the peregrine falcon's abundance in the Niobrara River valley. Whooping cranes migrate through the valley seasonally, and the interior least tern and piping plover nest on sandbars east of the popular floatable reach. Bald eagles are especially common in winter months fishing open stretches of the river, hunting small mammals, or feeding on winterkill or roadkill carion. They are also known to reside along the Niobrara in summer months.

The Niobrara River valley is home to unusually diverse plant groups and ecosystems. The area is noted in scientific literature for the many plants that exist here beyond their normal geographic limits. Plants of eastern, western, and northern forest ecosystems and three Great Plains prairie ecosystems converge here. Approximately 160 plant species are at the edge of their natural range in the river valley.

Several factors cause Niobrara's habitat "neighborhoods" to have unusual biological diversity. The river valley provides an unbroken east-west riparian corridor connecting the drier western landscape with the more humid midwestern prairie and eastern forest. Plants typical of each condition intermingle in this transition zone.

The river valley diveristy of habitats is also due to differing slope, moisture, and soil conditions. As climate conditions change over time, plants typical of past colder conditions continue to survive in the sheltered cool, wet, north-facing branch canyons while they have disappeared from drier, warmer, more open areas.

For more information on native plants of Nebraska and their distribution, follow the links below.

Native vegetation map - Univ of Nebraska State Museum http://www-museum.unl.edu/research/botany/nebraska_vegetation.html

Index of native plant species - University of Nebraska State Museum http://www-museum.unl.edu/research/botany/atlas/nebraska_family.html

The Niobrara Valley supports exceptional biological diversity within its narrow confines, where elements of the following ecosystems exist in the same area or very close to each other: northern boreal forest, ponderosa pine forest and savanna, eastern deciduous forest, tallgrass prairie, mixed-grass prairie, and sandhills prairie. Approximately 160 species of plants and animals found in the Niobrara Valley are at the edge of their range. Some plant and animal species are state or federally listed as rare, threatened, endangered, or candidate species. The braided lower river provides important nesting habitat for the endangered interior least tern and threatened piping plover. The river also provides important migratory habitat for endangered whooping cranes, bald eagles, and the recently delisted peregrine falcon. Side tributaries or "spring branch canyons" provide essential habitat to the endemic Bailey's eastern woodrat and the olive-backed pocket mouse. The side tributaries also provide important habitat to several glacial relict fish species including pearl dace, northern redbelly dace, and blacknose shiners. In addition to these biologically significant vertebrate species unique to the Niobrara Valley, invertebrate species also have a special niche. Some 92 species of butterflies have been recorded in the Niobrara Valley and sixteen species reach the edge of their range here. Hybridization of three species, Red-spotted purple, Weidemeyeri's admiral, and Eastern viceroy are noted as evolutionary and genetically significant.

An array of Great Plains mammals is recorded in the Niobrara Valley. Most species thrive unmanaged, though larger species such as bison and elk occur in fenced enclosures on the Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge and The Nature Conservancy's Niobrara Valley Preserve. A free-ranging moose has also been seen on the Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge.

Federally endangered species like the black-footed ferret once inhabited the area, but have since been extirpated from the region. River otter, a state threatened species, is native to the Niobrara. A reintroduction program was conducted by Nebraska Game and Parks Commission biologists from 1986 to 1992, with a release site near the Sheridan-Cherry County line in northwestern Nebraska. Since then river otter sightings have occurred throughout the Niobrara Valley, including several observations in the 76-mile scenic river reach.

The scenic river is distinctive in that it supports three mammal species that are uniquely associated with the Niobrara River. Bailey's eastern woodrat, a southern species, is now found as an isolated population in the central Niobrara Valley. The olive-backed pocket mouse, a western species, is also found in the valley and occurs at the eastern limits of its range in the valley. The southern bog lemming, a rare mammal of northeastern origin, occurs within the Niobrara Valley at its interface with the Sandhills.

Bats are also documented in the Niobrara River valley and represent an important component of the biodiversity of the area. Keen's bat and the Brazilian free-tailed bat have only been found in the central Niobrara Valley in Nebraska. Keen's bat is associated with moist, eastern-type habitats, while the Brazilian free-tailed bat ordinarily has an affinity for southern, sub-tropical habitats.

When canoeing or tubing the river, visitors may also encounter white-tailed deer, raccoons, coyotes, squirrels, eastern cottontail rabbits, mink, and beaver.

Hunting and trapping are popular activities in Nebraska, especially along the Niobrara River. Public land is available for hunting, but it is somewhat limited along the Niobrara. The majority of hunting and trapping occurs on private property. Individuals who wish to hunt on private property must be granted access by the landowner. If private access cannot be obtained several wildlife management areas (WMA's) are available for public use including the Borman Bridge WMA and Fred Thomas WMA. All state hunting and trapping regulations apply on public and private property. Nebraska's hunting guide, regulations, and state hunting areas can be found on the link below.