Nebraska Phase Lodges by Nebraskaland Magazine

A trading post was built by Joshua Pilcher of the Missouri Fur Company in 1822. This was built on what is now FNA property (near to the present "Great Marsh". This trading post began the settlement of Bellevue, Nebraska's oldest community, and served as a major stopover during the illustrious days of the Rocky Mountain fur trade. In 1828 it was purchased by Lucien Fontenelle, a French-American fur trader. Later it was used as an Indian Agency headquarters by the U.S. government.

Logan Fontenelle, original painting at Josyln Art Museum

In 1910 a group of area scholars and businessmen, led by Dr. A.A. Tyler and Dr. Harold Gifford, Sr., began efforts to preserve the beautiful lands along the Missouri River just south of Omaha. At that time these lands were largely cleared atop the ridges, though woods remained in some of the ravines. After the state of Nebraska rejected their petition to purchase the land as a state forest preserve, the group decided to buy the land themselves. In 1913 they formed their own non-profit organization, the Fontenelle Forest Association, for that purpose. The founding of Nebraska's state parks system was still 8 years in the future!

Fontenelle Forest Nature Center, from 1966 - 1999

In the years since, the Nature Center's facilities have been expanded through a series of construction projects, and the educational offerings have grown and diversified. In 1971 the FNA accepted a gift of 120 acres of land from Miss Edith Neale, north of Omaha on the Washington/Douglas county line. Miss Neale's father had homesteaded this land in the mid-1800's (along with his two brothers), and she wished it to be preserved in a state similar to how her ancestors had known it. This was the beginning of Neale Woods Nature Center.

In subsequent years another 60 acres of contiguous land was donated by Carl Jonas, whose father had been a founding member of the FNA; it is Carl's former home that has been modified into the current interpretive center at Neale Woods. In addition, bequests from Carl Jonas' estate allowed the FNA to purchase 112 more acres; twenty-five of these acres have been cleared and planted as prairies, thought to be representative of the land in the mid-1800's.

Camp Brewster

In 1998, the FNA purchased the 82-acre Camp Brewster from the Metro Omaha YWCA for $500,000. This land connects to the existing Forest, and provides buildings and open lawn areas, which are proving extremely valuable for special events, educational activities, and staff operations. This acquisition was spearheaded by Amy Willer, and supported by generous contributions from the Willer Foundation and the NE Environmental Trust Fund. Long-term plans for Camp Brewster are for it to be the site of a "Children's Forest" specifically intended for younger children. Camp Brewster's old sleeping lodges were renovated to provide the Association's staff offices during construction of the new main visitors center for Fontenelle Forest.

Katherine and Fred Buffett Forest Learning Center

The FNA has a long history of self-support; until the late 1980's the By-Laws prohibited even requesting support from any tax-generated source. In 1995, we were awarded a $210,000 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for the H2Omaha education initiative; this was the first time that the FNA had ever received any direct tax-generated support. Additional lottery money has since been received in the form of a $160,000 grant (1995) from the Nebraska Environmental Trust Fund for habitat restoration in Fontenelle Forest, $150,000 from the same Trust towards the Camp Brewster purchase, a $75,000 commitment ('98-2000) from the Trust for continuing the H2Omaha project, a $112,500 award for general operating support from the (federal) Institute of Museum Services, and the U.S. E.P.A.'s commitment of $525,000 for our major initiative in early childhood environment education, the ECO (Early Childhood Outdoors) Institute. Also, the $3 million Hidden Lake/Great Marsh wetlands restoration work (at Fontenelle Forest; 1996-1997) was funded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District, though these funds were not directly handled by the FNA.

2002 Native American Music Festival

The longest-standing member of the staff is our Director of Science and Stewardship, Gary Garabrandt, who began with the FNA in 1970. He is an expert on the history of the FNA lands, and is happy to speak with anyone who would like to learn more. He can also supply or recommend reading materials related to the FNA's history. Gary's phone number is (402)731-3140, his email is Gary Garabrandt.

Trading Post Northern Natural Gas Collection - Josyln Art Museum Watercolor by Karl Bodmer - 1833

One of the United States' interpreters at this Agency was Logan Fontenelle, one of five children of fur trader Lucien Fontenelle and his Omaha Indian wife, Me-um-bane. Logan Fontenelle was raised in both the white man's and Indian's cultures, and became a highly respected spokesman for the Omaha tribe (prior to his death at the age of 30 at the hands of a Sioux war party). Both Lucien and Logan Fontenelle are buried on FNA property, though the exact site has never been located; it is officially Logan for whom the Forest is named.

With the interruption of World War I, it took them until 1920 to raise $60,000 to buy the first tract of over 300 acres of land. Since that time, the total land are of Fontenelle Forest has been expanded to approximately 1,401 acres through additional purchases, gifts, and trades. Until the mid-1960's, the Forest was primarily used as a place for hikes and picnics; there were no professional staff employed other than a caretaker. However, in the 1960's Omaha's city forester, Jim Malkowski, began to lead educational hikes in the forest. These proved popular, and the ultimate result was the 1966 opening of the Fontenelle Forest Nature Center, with Malkowski as its first Director.

Neale Woods Nature Center

In 1995, the FNA added 262 acres to Neale Woods by purchasing the "Krimlofski Tract" with the help of a $100,000 gift from the Lozier Foundation. These forested lands directly connect Neale Woods to the Missouri River. They include a small pond and stream, a section of bluffs, and about one mile of river frontage. Somewhere on the bluffs is the site of Manual Lisa's "Fort Lisa", constructed in 1813. We hope to eventually sponsor an archeological "dig" to locate the exact site of this trading post.

Wetlands Learning Center

In the spring of 1999, the FNA opened the new Gilbert and Martha Hitchcock Wetlands Learning Center on the floodplain portion of Fontenelle Forest, some two miles from the main visitors center. This new "satellite" education building provides two classrooms and basic visitor services; adjacent to it is the Gifford Memorial Boardwalk which leads 3/8 mile to a two-story observation tower on the edge of the Great Marsh. The Hitchcock Wetlands Learning Center temporarily served as Fontnelle Forest's main visitor entry point, while the new primary visitors center was under construction on Bellevue Boulevard. This new facility, the Katherine and Fred Buffett Forest Learning Center, opened in October 2000.

2002 Native American Music Festival

Prior to 1998, the FNA's largest private fundraising effort was the $500,000 campaign in 1990-92 to construct the Equal Access Boardwalk at Fontenelle Forest and the Millard Observatory at Neale Woods. Since 1998, though, the FNA has raised $8.3 million for the Deep Roots, New Growth capital campaign, which has funded new interpretive and educational facilities within the Forest. This campaign includes a $500,000 addition to our permanent endowment, which has already been committed.

The FNA's membership base has always been a key to the fiscal support of our general operations. The current membership is around 5,000 households. Also, the FNA's endowment and investment funds have grown (primarily through bequests), and this has provided another stable source of operating funds.

In the year 2000, the FFA officially changed its name to the Fontenelle Nature Association. This change is intended to create more of an "umbrella" title for the organization, inclusive of all our facilities and major projects - rather than having the organizational name seem to refer only to Fontenelle Forest (as it long has).