Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge is located in the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Nebraska

Nebraska

Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....

 and includes 19,131 acres (77.42 km²). The refuge borders the Niobrara National Scenic River

Niobrara National Scenic River

The Niobrara National Scenic River is located in north-central Nebraska, United States, approximately 300 miles northwest of Omaha. In 1991, Congress set aside 76 miles along two stretches of the Niobrara River for preservation under the management of the National Park Service with assistance...

 on the west and is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. From 1879 to 1906, the Fort Niobrara Military Reservation was located on what later became refuge lands to house a garrison of the U.S. Cavalry. After the fort was closed, the effort to preserve the region as a wildlife refuge culminated in the creation of the refuge on January 11, 1912. The refuge also manages Valentine

Valentine National Wildlife Refuge

Valentine National Wildlife Refuge is located in the U.S. state of Nebraska and includes 19,131 acres . The refuge protects a portion of the largest remaining area of tall and mid grass prairie remaining in the U.S. Collectively known as the sand hills region of Nebraska, the dunes were the...

 and John and Louise Seier National Wildlife Refuge

John and Louise Seier National Wildlife Refuge

John and Louise Seier National Wildlife Refuge is located in the U.S. state of Nebraska and includes 2,400 acres . The refuge protects a portion of the largest remaining area of tall and mid grass prairie remaining in the U.S. Collectively known as the Sand Hills region of Nebraska, the dunes...

s as parts of the Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge Complex.

Fort Niobrara NWR is located along the banks of the Niobrara River

Niobrara River

The Niobrara River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately long, running through the U.S. states of Wyoming and Nebraska. The river drains one of the most arid sections of the Great Plains, and has a low flow for a river of its length...

 in Cherry County

Cherry County, Nebraska

Cherry County is unusual in being split between two time zones, Mountain Time and Central Time. The lines between the two runs roughly north to south along the eastern third of the county. Cherry County is also the location of the Valentine National Wildlife Refuge, the Fort Niobrara National...

. The river has eroded into the limestone

Limestone

Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....

, creating cliffs and a varied topography. This unusual alteration to the otherwise relatively featureless great plains

Great Plains

The Great Plains are a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, which lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S...

 presents a unique habitat that fosters numerous plant and animal species. Over 230 species of birds have been documented, along with a 350 Bison

Bison

Members of the genus Bison are large, even-toed ungulates within the subfamily Bovinae. Two extant and four extinct species are recognized...

 and a small herd of elk

Elk

The Elk is the large deer, also called Cervus canadensis or wapiti, of North America and eastern Asia.Elk may also refer to:Other antlered mammals:...

(wapiti) that have been restored to the refuge in an effort to repopulate the region with original animal species.