John & Louise Seier National Wildlife Refuge
Wildflowers, sand dunes and prairie at Seier NWR
John and Louise Seier National Wildlife Refuge is a 2,400-acre property that is closed to the public. Part of the property is forest, part wetland. Most of the land is tall-grass prairie that was homesteaded by the Seier family in the mid-1860's. John and Louise are siblings who donated the working cattle ranch to the US Fish and Wildlife Service to be used as a wildlife refuge.
The property was given to Fish & Wildlife in 1999 and since then, a management plan has been formulated. The first phase requires returning the land to its original state, as it was before the first homesteaders arrived in the area. Next is to develop a few trails and allow for educational and interpretive experience of the property. Birdwatching, wildlife observation and photography are among the primary human uses of the property. At this time, there is no projected opening date of the refuge.
Seier NWR is located about 25 miles south of Bassett, Nebraska off US Highway 183. This is in the Sandhills District, an area of grass-stabilized sand dunes that were exposed during the glacial retreat at the end of the last Ice Age.
Seier NWR is administered as part of the Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge Complex.
Photo courtesy of the US Fish & Wildlife Service;