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.
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The
land we now know as Fontenelle Forest has a long and fascinating history of
human use. Diverse Indian (native American) cultures once flourished here, as
revealed by archeological evidence including 70 known sites of Indian lodges
and mounds from the "Nebraska Phase" culture of about 1100 - 1400 A.D. In 1804,
the Lewis and Clark expedition undoubtedly crossed our lands.
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).
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