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Restoring the Republican River gets Nebraskans going with the flow
by Gene O. Morris

The once fast-flowing Republican River in southern Nebraska was choking to death, reduced to a slow, feeble trickle by an ever-increasing eruption of invasive vegetation in the stream bed.

The river had become helplessly vulnerable during ten years of drought, allowing leafed and limbed invaders to suck the river nearly dry. And, to make matters worse, the unwanted trees and plants were making it difficult for wildlife — and humankind — to enjoy the river's beauty and bounty.

But a newly-elected Nebraska state senator came to the rescue, writing landmark legislation which is doing exactly what it is supposed to do: clearing the Republican River stream bed and banks of four kinds of invasive vegetation — Russian Olive, Salt Cedar, Eastern Red Cedar and the European Reed, more commonly known as "Phrags" or "Phragmites."

Immediately after taking office in January of 2007, Nebraska State Sen. Tom Carlson of Holdrege introduced legislation to tackle the invasive vegetation problem. His bill, which eventually became a part of Legislative Bill 701, passed with funding of $2 million for Fiscal Years 2007 and 2008.

A remarkable success.

As 2009 dawns, the legislative program — officially called the Republican River Riparian Recovery Project — has done something not all government programs do. It has succeeded.

"We have been unbelievably fortunate," Sen. Carlson said. "The plan we wrote into law is on schedule, and the success of the program has been dramatic. By spraying and removing 3,000 acres of invasive trees and plants from the streambeds and lakebed of Harlan County Dam to the Kansas line, it is statistically estimated that we may have saved more that 40,000 acre feet of water in 2008."

To envision that, picture an acre of space filled with water to a depth of one foot. Then multiply that vision by 46,000. Sen. Carlson compares the total — accomplished with estimated spending of $2 million — to the plan of 2007, which was the purchase of surface water from irrigators for $10 million. That approach, with five times greater spending, bought only 32,000 acre feet of water, thousands less than the vegetation removal.

Nebraska's riparian recovery program is not only a success for Nebraskans, it is paying dividends beyond the state's borders. Of prime importance, removing streambed vegetation is helping increase stream flows into Kansas, which claims to have been shorted of water by Nebraska in recent years. And, beyond that, other states, including Oklahoma, are watching the Nebraska program because of problems they are having with invasive species, particularly Eastern Red Cedar, on their own rivers and streams.

Using what works.

While spraying was the predominant method of attack in the Nebraska counties of Furnas and Harlan, a different approach for invasive vegetation removal was utilized in the counties further west, including Red Willow, Hitchcock and Dundy.

There, crews equipped with skid steers and turbo saws reduced the invasive trees to flat stumps, which were then treated with a sterilizing mixture of Stalker, Garlon and JBL oil.

"The Republican was overrun with invasive vegetation from the Colorado line near Haigler to the Kansas line south of Alma," said Tim Smith, the project coordinator for Western Nebraska. "All four of the invasive species were causing problems in the stream bed. In the western part of the state — from Cambridge to the Colorado line — we had the trees cut and removed, while further east — from Cambridge to the Kansas line south of Republican City — they did more spraying because of the Phragmites."

The project coordinator for the Furnas and Harlan phase of the Republican River Riparian Recovery Project is Merle Illian of Red Cloud. "Both Tim and Merle are doing outstanding work," Sen. Carlson said. "We are also fortunate to have the leadership of Roger Stockton, the coordinator of the Southwest Nebraska Resource, Conservation and Development District. He is a visionary and a leading advocate for the removal of invasive trees. Mike Clements, manager of the Lower Republican NRD, has also played a key role in the effort."

Next year, the Platte.

As much as has been accomplished, much more needs to be done. "We not only need to finish work on the Republican River," Sen. Carlson said, "but we have work to do on the Platte River, which is also suffering from serious invasive vegetation problems."

As a result, Sen. Carlson will be calling upon his legislative colleagues for additional funding for invasive vegetation removal in 2009. "When the Nebraska Legislature convenes this month, I will be seeking a two-year extension of the Riparian Recovery Project," he said.

"The work on the Republican is of vital importance for this area," Tim Smith declared. "Out here, water trumps everything else. It is the single most important factor in creating a vibrant economy." That's why there is such a sense of pride about removal of invasive vegetation from the Republican River streambed.

It's a wonder to behold: The tangled river bed is becoming free of the ferocious horde of vegetative invaders. Hope is returning, as the Republican regains its natural flow and recaptures more open, uncluttered access for wildlife and outdoorsmen.

A former editor of the McCook Gazette, Gene Morris is a free lance writer based in McCook. Neb. He may be reached by phone at 308-340-5972 or by e-mail at geneomorris@yahoo.com.

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