Olson Nature Preserve
| Olson Nature Preserve | |
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Footbridge at Olson Nature Preserve
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 Location of Olson Nature Preserve in Nebraska
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| Location | Boone County, Nebraska, United States |
| Nearest city | Petersburg, Nebraska; Albion, Nebraska |
| Coordinates | 41°47′59.8″N 98°6′15.9″W / 41.799944°N 98.104417°WCoordinates: 41°47′59.8″N 98°6′15.9″W / 41.799944°N 98.104417°W |
| Area | 112 acres (45 ha) |
| Established | 1995 |
| Governing body | Prairie Plains Resource Institute |
The Olson Nature Preserve is a nature preserve in Boone County, in east-central Nebraska. It is located on Beaver Creek, between the towns of Albion and Petersburg. The preserve covers 112 acres (45 ha).
The preserve serves for both education and recreation. It is used by local people as an outdoor classroom for studies about natural science, local history, agriculture, and the arts; and as a recreational area providing views of the Sandhills prairie, meadows, cottonwoods, oxbow wetlands, lowland tall grass, oak forest and the loess hills by Beaver Creek.
A farm couple, Grant and Bernice Olson, owned the Olson Nature Preserve. Having survived the drought and Depression of Boone County, the Olsons developed a successful cattle business with over 1,200 acres (490 ha) of pasture and farm ground. Over the years they allowed their land to be used by scouts and other people who liked the outdoors. The Olsons had no children, so when they died, they left their land to the Girl and Boy Scout regional councils, to the nearby town of Albion's public school system, and to a local health care organization. In 1992, a group of Boone County citizens requested that the Beaver Creek site of the Olson property be set aside for public use. A feasibility study of the development potential of a natural resources laboratory on this land was directed by Albion citizen Norm Smith, suggesting the need for an outdoor classroom.
In 1995, the Prairie Plains Resource Institute, centered in Aurora, Nebraska, took ownership of the property, agreeing to provide annual maintenance needs. Representatives of the Prairie Plains Resource Institute, educators, and community members have since then developed procedures and policies in regards to the care and upkeep of the preserve.
The Olson Nature Preserve lies at the easternmost tip of the Nebraska Sandhills, and includes a half-mile stretch of Beaver Creek. A variety of ecosystems occur within the preserve, including a Sandhills rangeland area, native hardwood forest (oak and cottonwood), an oxbow wetland area, Beaver Creek and adjacent features, lowland pasture, and a sandy blowout canyon.
The preserve’s closely placed ecosystems give educators and visitors a variety of species, plants, and animals to observe. The oak woodlands contain old oaks standing on their roots two to three feet in the air due to sand erosion, while the loess hills contain a source of clay matching pots from an excavated native American village in the area. Beaver Creek is shallow enough for wading during the summer, allowing aquatic plants, fish, and turtles to be observed. The diversity of habitats in the floodplain of the preserve provide for a diversity of bird species including bald eagles, snakes, and small and large mammals. Hiking trails leading up to the ridge of the oak escarpment provide a lookout point of the preserve’s terrain.
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