9 August 2023
BARTON COUNTY, Kan. (KSNW) — Four months ago, the Cheyenne Bottoms wetlands area in central Kansas was in the middle of its largest drought in 10 years. But wildlife officials are hopeful that the two to three inches of rain that fell across Barton County in the past 24 hours will help the situation.
Cheyenne Bottoms is the largest marsh in the inland U.S. The National Park Service says it is the most important stopover for migrating shorebirds in the Western Hemisphere.
The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks manages the park. In April, KDWP shared aerial pictures of how dry the wetlands were.
On Wednesday, KDWP shared pictures taken after the overnight storm moved through the area.
As of last week, the U.S. Drought Monitor still showed Barton County as being in extreme drought. Its new report will be out on Thursday, but since the researchers collect data on Tuesday mornings, the report will not include rain that fell overnight.
KDWP says drying of the wetlands is a natural process and is essential to the overall maintenance of the marsh. But even in April, officials said they expected Cheyenne Bottoms to bounce back.