Troubled
Waters on the Niobrara
Reported by Brad
Penner, STATEWIDE Correspondent
Nebraska doesn't have a national park. Not one. But there's one place in the
state that was considered as a park site. The National Park Service studied
the Niobrara River Valley near Valentine, but a park doesn't seem to be in the
cards.
We've been following efforts to protect the Niobrara area
for more than a year now. A national park was one of the options. But over the
summer the National Park Service released their study, and there won't be a
national park there. At the same time the Park Service is moving closer to finalizing
a scenic river protection plan for the area. The scenic river issue is separate
from the national park question, but the debate over who should control the
river goes on in a troubled valley.
The Niobrara is beautiful. The Niobrara is fun. That alone isn't enough to meet
national park standards, but the Park Service found other things that aren't
as easy to see unless you look closely.
Look at the trees. Ponderosa pines, typical of the Rocky Mountain
region, grow on the northern bank. Paper birch and aspen trees found in northern
forests also grow there. Plants and animals common to the eastern U.S. can be
found in the area, and sandhills grassland lies to the south. It's the only
place in the world where these diverse types of wildlife co-exist. The average
canoer might not care, but it's very significant for biologists. The river valley
is also rich in fossils. A study by the Park Service found that the scientific
and environmental qualities combined to make the Niobrara Valley a good place
for a national park.
The Park Service report outlined how a national park could
be developed and even included boundaries.
[Warren Hill, National Park Service:] "We found that
those resources were nationally significant and should be protected. This is
the alternative that Congress asked us to look at, and we said, yes, it could
be suitable and it oughta be about that size and shape. We tried to include
all of the significant resources without getting any of the agricultural lands
on the north rim." Some of the land that falls within those boundaries belongs
to Carl Simmons and his family.
[Rancher Carl Simmons:] "I have yet to talk to a person
from this local area who is for establishing a national park. And it certainly
has brought out a lot of people -- or a lot of people have become vocal about
their feelings. And in that respect, yes, I think it's brought people together
to oppose the national park."
A lot of people who live in or near the proposed national
park site made their feelings clear. The Park Service held public meetings at
five sites around Nebraska to hear what people had to say. Bob and Diana Sears
drove from Ainsworth to the meeting in Lincoln.
[Diana Sears:] "I'm a very strong believer in private
property rights, and so I wanted to come down and make sure that the local interests
of the people were represented down here."
[Penner:] "And you were afraid that they wouldn't be?"
[Sears:] "I think it's always better if you have a local
person from the area to come down and present their views to the urban people.
And yeah, maybe I did have a little reservation as to whether they would be
represented appropriately."
Back in Valentine another meeting and another strike against
a national park.
[Jim Van Winkle, Cherry County Commissioner:] "We have
not been in support of a national park up here for quite a few reasons, but
one of the most significant being that a huge loss in property tax base right
now would be real harmful to this county. We don't have enough folks paying
property taxes now."
Valentine is already the hub of a growing tourism industry.
A new motel will help handle the 35,000 visitors who flock to the area every
year. The out-of-state cars mean business for Valentine. It's estimated that
a national park would bring in 40,000 more people every year, but many locals
believe more tourism would come at the expense of agriculture, and they don't
see that as an even trade. [Hill:] "My name is Warren Hill, Superintendent of the Niobrara/Missouri.
I think most of you know who I am and I know most of you so that's helpful."
Warren Hill saw many of the same faces at the meetings. He
heard many of the same comments, and he listened.
[Hill:] "We're getting a pretty consistent message."
[Question from the crowd:] "What does that tell you then,
Warren? In your report to Congress?"
[Hill:] "I'll tell them what they said."
[Question:] "Is that going to come through loud and clear
that we the people just don't want this thing? Is that what you're going to
say?"
[Hill:] "Well, I might qualify it a little bit more than
that, but yes, I'm going to say that."
When the meetings were over, Hill sent the report to Washington.
A few weeks later the Park Service issued a statement. They would not recommend
a new national park in the Niobrara Valley. Park supporters like Jim Cole of
Lincoln were disappointed. Cole is a professor at the University of Nebraska
and president of the Sierra Club. When the idea of a national park was first
brought up, he was enthusiastic about the possibilities.
[Jim Cole, Sierra Club:] "It would be unique to this
area, something that potentially would benefit Nebraska, would be something
Nebraska would have as one of its resources, something to brag about, something
to be proud of. So I thought the possibility at that time was really one that
was exciting." Congressman Doug Bereuter might be the biggest supporter of
a Niobrara National Park, but he decided not to push the plan in Congress.
[Rep. Bereuter:] "It's clear that there is not sufficient
support in the area for the economic benefits that a national park would bring.
I think that's a mistake on the part of the local people, and i think, in fact,
there is some intimidation that has gone on against the communities in the area
where leadership and support was there initially to some substantial extent
for a national park designation."
But even if there were more support for a national park, chances
are it wouldn't happen now. The Park Service is already facing a serious budget
crunch. New parks aren't on the agenda. But the concerns about the Niobrara
Valley haven't gone away. Tim Knott is with the Audubon Society.
[Tim Knott, Audubon Society:] "I think the main thing
we're concerned with is that the land eventually over the long run will be cut
up into smaller and smaller pieces and sold off to absentee owners for vacation
homes or hunting camps or temporary residences and that sort of thing. That's
the number one problem that we're concerned about." Land along the banks of the Niobrara with easy access to the river is prime
property for development. Carl Simmons knows all about that.
[Penner:] "Have you ever been tempted to do any commercial
developing or sell some of this land for commercial development?"
[Simmons:] "Sure, yeah. There's a push right now as we
discussed earlier of using this very land right here for commercial development
for canoeing, for a landing and parking lot, and yeah -- and it's tempting.
I mean, we haven't talked dollar figures yet, but I'm sure that they can tempt
us. I'm resisting it."
Simmons doesn't want to see unchecked development along the Niobrara Valley,
but he doesn't think federal control is the answer.
[Simmons:] "The commercial development, the housing and
residential development or recreational use development is a huge pressure right
now and will continue to be, and I think that needs to be addressed by local
and county governments probably through the process of planning and zoning."
Zoning laws would limit development along the river. It's
something each of the affected counties are working on, and it's something Warren
Hill of the Park Service supports.
[Hills:] "The trends are towards greater protection of
that resource through local initiative and local management, and so, you know,
the more that we can support and encourage that, why the better off those natural
resources are going to be along the river."
But Congressman Bereuter is skeptical about the effectiveness
of zoning laws.
[Bereuter:] "Now it could well be that ordinances are
passed and signed, but they are really little more than worthless paper. Implementation
is all success -- is all important."
Like it or not, zoning will probably be the key element of
future plans to protect the river. The park service is recommending that a Niobrara
Council be formed to manage the scenic river portion of the Niobrara. Local
officials would run the council. The federal government would provide some funding
and Park Service support. It's still unclear how much land along the river will
fall under scenic river restrictions. There's still strong disagreement over
where to draw the boundary lines. And that brings us back to the national park
issue. Congressman Bereuter has no plans to push for a park, but he's leaving
the door open just a crack.
[Bereuter:] "It's unlikely that we'll go back and resurrect
a national park study unless in the next year and a half or so as we finish
the process for the designation of the scenic river on the Niobrara -- unless
that fails all together to give adequate protection to the Niobrara."
But adequate protection for the Niobrara means different things
to different people. This land won't become a national park now, but the struggle
to save the river and satisfy the people will go on. Reporting for Statewide,
I'm Brad Penner.
Captioning by Nebraska
Captioning Center, Lincoln, Nebraska .
.
Some of the land that falls within those boundaries belongs
to Carl Simmons and his family.
[Hill:] "My name is Warren Hill, Superintendent of the Niobrara/Missouri.
I think most of you know who I am and I know most of you so that's helpful."
Congressman Doug Bereuter might be the biggest supporter of
a Niobrara National Park, but he decided not to push the plan in Congress.
Land along the banks of the Niobrara with easy access to the river is prime
property for development. Carl Simmons knows all about that.