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Boyer Chute, straddling the Iowa-Nebraska border three miles east of the town of Fort Calhoun, is a joint federal and local conservation project to restore habitat that became scarce when the Missouri River was improved for navigation half a century ago.
The site, along a two-mile-long channel paralleling the river, conserves about 4,000 acres.
The area was originally an island of sand and sediments deposited in the Missouri River by Iowa's Boyer River. Gradually, the river carved channels, or chutes, through the sediment. One of the major channels was Boyer Chute.
In 1937, to build up the river's main navigation channel, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers cut off the upstream end of Boyer Chute, constructing a river wall and shale dikes across the inlet. Culverts were installed in the upstream wall to allow some water to enter the chute, but sediments accumulated, vegetation began to grow, and a young forest gradually took hold in and along the chute.
The current project restores the area without affecting navigation on the main stem of the Missouri River. Programs include the excavation of the historic channel, the return of soybean and corn fields to grassland and natural habitat, and the construction of a 121-foot concrete bridge to the "island."
The floodplain forest grows freely along the chute. This allows birds to roost and nest; especially raptors, wood ducks and kingfishers.
Beaver, raccoon, opossum and other mammals prosper here, and herons, waterfowl and other wildlife find privacy and seclusion. The area also provides critical breeding habitat and a nursery for sport fish.
Recreation activities include nature walks, mushroom picking, birding, biking, and fishing.
Visitors enjoy two miles of paved road, wheelchair-accessible parking areas, two picnic shelters, looped nature trails, and toilets and fishing piers.
Outdoor Activities |
Enjoy the tranquility of the refuge's river channel or "chute."
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