University of Nebraska Kearney - Blue and Gold Yearbook (Kearney, NE)

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s s u E s Bridge Over Troubled Water GEOGRAPHY PROFESSOR STEELE BECKER RESEARCHES THE PLATTE RIVER TO FIND THE EFFECTS OF BRIDGES ON THE RIVER’S CHANNELS AND ISLANDS U Research answers one question and asks a dozen more,” said Steele Becker, KSC geography professor, who has researched the Platte River since 1966 in several projects. His current project began May, 1987. The project asks, ‘‘What effect do bridges have on the channels and islands in the Platte River?” “We know that the Plate has shrunk and has a reduced flow,” Becker said. “But we don’t really know why.” Of these six variables, only bridge construction has not been researched as to its effect on Platte River. “Sometimes science is blind,” Becker said. “1 can’t find where anyone focused a study on bridges that went in before they stabi- lized the banks. Before they diverted it — they had to cross it!” The actual question popped into Becker’s mind “quite by accident” after a previous research project in 1986. The 1986 project, funded by Central Platte Natural Resources District (NRD) and the Research Services Coun- cil, involved making detailed maps of the Platte River in Dawson, Buffalo and Hall counties. By using infrared ariel photos from 1976 to 1985 of the Platte supplied by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Platte River Whooping Crane Trust, Becker and his assistant, Barbara Fis- kopp, drew maps of the Platte. Tbese infrared photos were also transposed on grid maps, which allowed the researchers to compare the changes in island and water area of the river. As an experiment, Fiskopp scaled the percentages of the changes of the 10- year period on a graph that ranged from west to east. She took the graph to Beck- er. They noticed that the river changed more dramatically in the west than the east. Becker then added the number of bridges to the appropriate places from the west to the east and observed that more bridges were pres- ent in the eastern part of the 112-mile area. No one told Fis- kopp to make the graph, Becker said. “If she wouldn’t have made it, I would have never asked the question.” Becker went to Central Platte NRD with the proposal and received $5,000 backing for his research. Already loaded with information from the previous proj- ect which is the only long-term accumu- lation of Platte River data, Becker plans U 1 think that is why we are successful... we deliv- er ahead of time.” —Becker to go even further. He has two computer statistics ma- jors, senior Dave Her vert and junior Chuck Ziska, working to complete the quarter-of-a-million bits of data in an Sometimes science is blind. I can't find where anyone focused a study on bridges that went in be- fore they stabbilized the banks. Apple Computer. This information will be used to simulate the river on the computer and further study came be made with simu- lated bridge construction and changes to find what these changes on Nebraska’s greatest resource will mean in the future. “The more information that we ac- cumulate, the better. Then we can allow maximum benefit and economic growth without destroying the river,” Becker said. “I want my grandchildren to enjoy the river as much as I do.” Becker has the personal satisfaction of knowing that his work will contribute to the preservation and utiliz- ation of the Platte Riv- er. “Our deadline is April 30, 1988. We’ll be done before then. I’ve never yet taken all the time alloted for a project,” Becker said. “I think is why we are successful... we deliver ahead of time.” And, he’s already asking two other questions which will mean even more re- search ... Pam Wood BE3fi 15

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 - Steele Becker: “We know that the Platte (River) has shrunk and has reduced flow, but we really don't know why.”Becker suspects that bridge con- struction may he a factor in the Platte's flow reduc- tion and has been researching to find if his suspi- cion is true.

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