Saline Wetlands Conservation Partnership

Saline Wetlands Conservation Partnership (SWCP) is a conservation program devoted to the protection and preservation of Nebraska’s Eastern Saline Wetlands. The Eastern Saline Wetlands of Lancaster and Saunders counties Nebraska are among the most unusual and threatened wetland communities in the state. Limited to the floodplain swales and depressions within the Salt Creek, Little Salt Creek, and Rock Creek drainages, it’s estimated that the Eastern Saline Wetlands once covered an area in excess of 200,000 acres (810 km2). Today, due to extensive degradation, draining and filling through commercial, residential, and agricultural development, less than 4,000 acres (16 km2) remain, and many of these remnants are highly degraded. Now more than ever it’s become increasingly important to preserve what remains of this unique wetland resource. Although several existing programs have been recognized to address saline wetland conservation needs, they alone have not been enough to ensure the long term protection of this endangered resource. Thus, the Saline Wetland Conservation Partnership (SWCP) was created to offer additional protection and management of the state’s diminishing saline wetlands.