Hutton Niobrara Ranch Wildlife Sanctuary

By Bob McElroy

The Hutton Niobrara Ranch Wildlife Sanctuary north of Bassett Nebraska consists of several miles of open Sand Hill country traversed by deep creeks that descend into steep walled canyons thickly lined with red cedar and some oak. The canyons open up into streamside meadows that are bordered on the north by the Niobrara River. Across the river can be seen bluffs rising to the plain beyond.

The Niobrara is a classic high plains stream about three or four hundred yards wide in that area and only inches deep. It is the realm of the Uplands Sandpiper and Western Meadowlark. Eastern Kingbirds and Dickcissel are seen from time to time and Long-billed Curlews nest on the sanctuary. The Grasshopper Sparrow sang on the day of our visit but remained unseen. Prairie flowers bloomed in wide stretches of pale purple coneflower and patches of gray headed coneflower, which were bright yellow despite their name. The purple columns of the leadplant are common in the upland pastures as well as an occasional wild rose.

The Hutton Sanctuary is almost five thousand acres, which is nearly eight square miles of prairie, canyons and river meadow. After a mile or two of prairie pasture we descend into Willow Creek, one of the major waterways crossing the ranch. Red cedar is so thick we are forced out of the saddle to scramble down the steep banks. Fortunately, the creeks are easily crossed but the struggle is repeated to climb up the other side. After reaching the far end of the property we descend again through thick cedars and oaks, a place where Ovenbirds were singing, to the wet prairie meadows that lie in the floodplain next to the river.

The grass is belly high to the horses and they are frequently splashing water because the water table is inches below the ground surface. Male Bobolinks are on station about every hundred yards with their distinctive black bodies, and flashes of yellow and white on their heads and wings. Redwing Blackbirds, a rare Yellow-headed Blackbird, and Wood Ducks are seen in the bordering marsh.

By noon the sun is quite hot. We jump the fence at a gap in the trees and after kicking off our boots, fall into the river fully clothed.
The water is almost warm and barely a foot deep in the channels, but a few holes are deep enough to allow us to cool off. Ron tells me that the broad shallow character of the river with its many sandbars serves as a resting area for Whooping Cranes and Sandhill Cranes in migration, as a nesting area for Least Terns, and as a source of fish for wintering and migratory Bald Eagles.

We eat lunch under a gnarled burr oak and envision how Audubon of Kansas can use this beautiful land to teach environmental stewardship and fulfill the dreams of Harold and Lucille Hutton. Harold and Lucille both were raised in this area and after working in construction in Washington during and after the war, they returned to Basset, bought their ranch and slowly expanded it to its current size. Harold was much interested in conservation and instituted practices that were to bring him praise from conservation groups. He was an avid collector of fossils and Indian artifacts - especially locally found arrowheads.

Perhaps he was best known as an historian, having written several books on local individuals and incidents during the frontier era, such as Doc Middleton; Life and Legends of the Notorious Plains Outlaw, and Vigilante Days: Frontier Justice Along the Niobrara. His last book, The River That Runs, features the Niobrara River Valley. Lucille is an artist of considerable talent who has exhibited in a number of regional and statewide shows.

Lucille has given the property to Audubon of Kansas to operate with Harold’s high standards of stewardship as a combination working-ranch and wildlife sanctuary. We envision reintroducing a small colony of prairie dogs onto the property and building a visitor center to house Lucille’s paintings and Harold’s artifacts. This is truly a gift given to us all.