Habitat & Conservation  |  01/05/2022

Voluntary Public Access, Wetland Easements and Partnership Wins


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A big group of partners, donors and supporters at the dedication of the Saline Meadows property. Photo by Holly Mauslein.

By Kelsi Wehrman, Nebraska State Coordinator

In late summer, Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever of Nebraska joined partners to celebrate a successful land acquisition dedicated to upland habitat in eastern Nebraska. The Saline Meadows property is part of a wetland complex that includes Jack Sinn Memorial WMA in Lancaster County. The new property consists of 233 acres of upland habitat, crop ground, wet meadow, open water and saline salt flats. The diversity offers tremendous wildlife benefits for pheasant, quail, waterfowl, songbirds, pollinators and monarchs.

This site will also expand public hunting access in eastern Nebraska, with the project being within in a 20-minute drive from Lincoln and 45 minutes from Omaha.

The event consisted of 60 attendees participating in monarch tagging, wetland tours, habitat and saline soil discussions. The family of Ralph and Betty Olson participated in the day’s activities and celebrated the legacy left by their parents.

This acquisition was made possible by a variety of partners including Saline Wetland Conservation Partnership, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, the City of Lincoln, Lower Platte South NRD, Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Section 6 funds and NAWCA), The Nebraska Environmental Trust, Ducks Unlimited and the Pegler Foundation in honor of John Guenzel, and the Family of Ralph and Betty Olson.

This acquisition is a perfect example of partners bringing resources together to accomplish a conservation goal. Thank you to everyone that attended this beautiful place, the day, and made the event possible!


This story originally appeared in the 2022 Winter Issue of the Pheasants Forever Journal. If you enjoyed it and would like to be the first to read more great upland content like this, become a Pheasants Forever member today!