The wetlands of Nebraska are especially notable because, not only do they comprise a greater percentage of the state’s land mass than is true of
any of the six surrounding states, but of the great ecological diversity they present. The variety of wetland types in the state supports a remarkable
abundance and range of wetland plants and animals, in some cases species that are regionally or nationally rare, and even endangered. The greatest number and acreage of wetlands in the state are
associated with the Nebraska Sandhills, which depend directly on the Ogallala aquifer, but the highly alkaline wetlands in western Nebraska and in the vicinity of Lincoln support some of the state’s
most specialized and rarest species of both plants and animals.

The Great Plains of North America represents one of the most biogeographically diverse regions of the entire continent. Nebraska lies at the heart of this diversity; one area that well illustrates this
is southwestern Nebraska. The diversity of habitats, lakes, rivers, and grasslands, has led to an unusually high number of bird species being found in the area. This area has probably the highest bird species diversity of any comparably sized area in the Great Plains north of Texas. The central Platte River with the adjacent Rainwater
Basins supports one of the most magnificent, and critically important, bird migratory stopover areas in the Great Plains.

Paul Johnsgard author of <em>Wetlands of Nebraska</em> and Mary Bomberger Brown author of <em>Birds of Southwest Nebraska</em> will do a meet and greet with the public at 6 pm followed by a presentation at 7 pm. A book signing will follow the presentation.

The books will be available for purchase in the <a href="http://nebraskamaps.unl.edu">Nebraska Maps & More Store</a>.

At 6:30 pm birds from Pioneer’s Park Nature Center will be available for viewing.