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  • About Us Backback to Main menu
    • Our Vision
    • Locations & Directions
    • Preserve & Barn Hours
    • The Barn at Glacier Creek
    • Preserve Events
    • Contact Us
  • Our Preserve Backback to Main menu
    • Glacier Creek Preserve
    • The Barn at Glacier Creek
    • Physical Environment
    • Preserve Development History
    • Preserve Management & Ongoing Restoration
    • Flora & Fauna
  • Affiliated Preserve Backback to Main menu
    • Affiliated Nature Preserves
    • T.L. Davis Preserve
  • Research Backback to Main menu
    • Research Guidelines & Permissions
    • Research at Glacier Creek
    • Research at T.L. Davis Preserve
  • Education & Public Use Backback to Main menu
    • Pre-K-12 / Higher Education
    • General Public Access
    • Volunteer Opportunities
    • Volunteer & Internship Announcements
    • Visitor Use Policies
    • Preserve Events
    • Self-guided Walk
  • Prescribed Burning Backback to Main menu
    • Prescribed Burning
    • Volunteer for a Burn
  • Support Us Backback to Main menu
    • Donate to UNO Nature Preserves
    • Volunteer Opportunities
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Glacier Creek Preserve

  1. UNO
  2. Glacier Creek Preserve
  3. Our Preserve

  • Related Resources

  • Map of Glacier Creek Preserve
  • Amphibian & Reptile Species List
  • Bird Species List
  • Butterfly Species List
  • Flora Species List
  • Mammal Species List
  • Moth Species List

As I looked about me I felt that the grass was the country, as the water is the sea."- Willa Cather

Glacier Creek Preserve is a restored Tallgrass Prairie nature preserve used for research, teaching, and community engagement. It is among the largest of the early prairie restorations that were intended to restore tallgrass prairie, an ecosystem of which less than 1% remains. The 1856 survey of the area around Glacier Creek noted “There is but little timber, which is in the north part of the Township on the Big Papillion...” [this timber is well north of present Glacier Creek]. The Preserve has a diverse flora and fauna which has been maintained with prescribed burning since 1970. Typically, one-third of the Preserve undergoes burning each spring, adhering to a three-year fire return interval, believed to mirror the pre-settlement burn frequency of the tallgrass prairie in this area.

History in Brief: The land presently making up Glacier Creek Preserve was part of the area first homesteaded in 1880 by Hans and Christiana Nielsen from Denmark. Most likely this was the approximate year that the area was converted from prairie to cropland. Fast forwarding, in 1959, the 65 ha (160 acre) Glen Haven Farm was donated to the University of Nebraska at Omaha (then the Omaha University). In 1970, 57 ha (140 acres) of the farm were reseeded to five species of native tallgrass prairie grasses establishing Allwine Prairie Preserve. Between 2009 and 2019, purchase of surrounding cropland resulted in today’s 212 ha (525 acre) Glacier Creek Preserve, a preserve that encompasses the entire Glacier Creek drainage. Glacier Creek is a small, spring-fed creek that is part of the larger Missouri River drainage. It was recorded in the 1856 land survey field notes as: “Spring brook 4 links [0.8 m or 32 in] wide runs E.” Allwine Prairie, now the Allwine Prairie Tract, is at the core of today’s Preserve.

Map of Glacier Creek Preserve

Objective

The objective of Glacier Creek Preserve is to maintain an ecologically sustainable, landscape-level wildlife preserve focusing on tallgrass prairie and related ecosystems that will serve present and future generations both as a site for environmental research and education and as an important community resource for the appreciation of our historic prairie environment.

Description

Glacier Creek Preserve is a 212 ha (525 acre) restored tallgrass prairie preserve that is divided into four tracts: The Allwine Prairie Tract (the original preserve created from cropland in 1970), the Papio Tract, the Barbi Hayes Overlook, and the Bouteloua Tract. The Preserve situated northwest of Omaha in the rolling hills of eastern Nebraska. Embedded within the Preserve is the 57 ha (140 acres) Allwine Prairie Tract, a restored tallgrass prairie created in 1970. Large enough to sustain a diversity of functioning plant and animal communities, Glacier Creek Preserve incorporates an entire sub-watershed. This feature protects the preserve against effects of surrounding land use thus reinforcing its sustainability into the foreseeable future as a unique metropolitan area preserve available for education, research, and appreciation of our natural heritage.

The Barn at Glacier Creek

Essential to Preserve activities is The Barn at Glacier Creek (aka the Barn), the preserve's environmental research and education facility that provides classroom space, a field lab, restrooms, and a multi-functional space in the hayloft of the second floor that can accommodate over 50 individuals.

The Barn also houses the Preserve office, staffed by the Preserve Operations Administrator and the Land Management Specialist. The Barn, a 1900's era historic barn, was donated and moved from its original location on the Roy Johnson family farm to Glacier Creek Preserve in 2012 with the donation provided by the Roy Johnson Family Partnership and Barbi Hayes, a major owner of the partnership. Barbi Hayes also funded upgrading the Barn which includes geothermal heating and cooling, is fully ADA accessible, and has full wireless and port access to the internet. Use of the Barn is coordinated by Preserve Staff.

Other structures in the headquarters area include the Land Management Specialist’s house, a 1950's era double-garage storage structure, and a metal shed for Preserve vehicles.


Check out additional information about Glacier Creek Preserve by selecting from the main drop-down menus or clicking the links below.

Our Vision Physical Environment Pre-K-12 / Higher Education
Locations & Directions Preserve Development History General Public Access
Preserve & Barn Hours Preserve Management & Restoration Visitor Use Policies
The Barn at Glacier Creek Flora & Fauna at the Preserve Preserve Events
Contact Us Prescribed Burning Self-guided Walk
Volunteer Opportunities Volunteer for a Burn Research Guidelines & Permissions
Donate Affiliated Preserve - T.L. Davis Research at Glacier Creek

Announcements

  • Check out upcoming events at Glacier Creek Preserve
  • Guided hike at GCP - June 3, 2025
  • Spring Strings at GCP - June 7, 2025
  • Check out the self-guided hike at Glacier Creek Preserve
Volunteer with us!

Volunteers Needed!

Glacier Creek and T.L. Davis Preserves offer many opportunities for students and non-students to get involved in various volunteer activities. Whether interested in gaining experience in restoring and managing natural communities or simply wanting to get outside and enjoy nature, we have the place for you. Learn more.

Contact Us

  • Glacier Creek Preserve: 14810 State Street | Bennington, Nebraska 68007
  • Preserve Email: unoglaciercreek@unomaha.edu
  • Phone: 402.554.6300

Related Resources

  • Map of Glacier Creek Preserve
  • Amphibian & Reptile Species List
  • Bird Species List
  • Butterfly Species List
  • Flora Species List
  • Mammal Species List
  • Moth Species List

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