Time for a geography lesson.

The Missouri River along eastern Nebraska is flooding. Phenomenal amounts of water are pouring past the state and will continue to do so for months.

The Missouri is dangerous and boating is banned.

The North Platte River in western Nebraska is above flood stage in places from the Wyoming state line to near Grand Island.

What about the Niobrara River in north-central Nebraska and the Elkhorn River in northeast and eastern Nebraska?

Or the Calamus, Loup, Cedar and Dismal rivers in central Nebraska?

Come on in. The waters fine.

Still, the Nebraska Game and Parks continues to field calls about the availability of state parks and recreation areas due to flooding along the Missouri and Platte rivers.

The vast majority are open for business and available for outdoor recreation, said Greg Wagner, a Game and Parks spokesman in Omaha.

Commercial outfitters said they, too, are suffering because of misconceptions that the Elkhorn and Niobrara are flooding.

People have been inundated with all of the news of the Missouri River flooding and dont realize that these local businesses are still operating on a safe river, said Brock Beran, a civil engineer who operates a side business on the Elkhorn known as Tubing Adventures.

Brocks tubing company which provides tubes specifically made for river use receives emails daily from people asking if the business is still operating during the flooding. Several groups have canceled Elkhorn tubing trips because of concerns about river levels.

The flawed assumption that all rivers must be flooding because the Missouri is flooding has greatly affected the livelihood of many outfitting businesses, said Steve Evers of Tank Down the Elkhorn.

Evers operation rents horse tanks with tables set in the middle.

The Elkhorn is safe and the outfitters that operate on the Elkhorn are eager to have people come and enjoy the river this summer, he said.

Wagner said people appear to believe that all rivers must be flooding.

Wagner said hes getting the most calls about the Louisville and Two Rivers state recreation areas, both of which are in the Omaha area but not near the Missouri River and open for business as usual.

Hes also received many inquiries about the Niobrara River near Valentine. Again, no problems. The river is fed by springs and remains ideal for canoeing, kayaking and tubing.

Some park grounds have been affected by flooding. Buffalo Bill Ranch State Recreation Area on the North Platte is closed.

Some state parks along the Missouri such as Indian Cave, Ponca and Niobrara may have flooding in low-lying areas, but the majority of parkland is up in the hills.

Water levels are good at Salt Valley Lakes such as Pawnee and Branched Oak.

Wagner advised people with questions about park access to call the park for firsthand information.

Beran said commercial outfitters monitor the Elkhorn daily to assure that the river is at safe levels for recreational use.

The Elkhorn River is not flooding, he said. The Elkhorn River, Platte River and Missouri River come from different drainage basins. One of the rivers could be flooding while the others are not.

Beran likes the Elkhorn for tubing because it has a distinct channel that is deeper and more defined than the Platte.

The Elkhorn runs typically between 4.5 feet to 6 feet deep on average due to high water tables in June, he said. River depths fluctuate daily because of rainfall, especially in May and June.

Beran said commercial outfitters make sure that the river is at or below a safe level of 5.5 feet, and they provide all of the proper safety equipment to legally and safely be on the river.

The water level usually drops in early to mid-July when farmers start irrigating. The river will drop to 3 to 4.5 feet on average, Beran said.

The Elkhorn is perfect for recreational use, such as tubing, canoeing, kayaking, tanking and airboating, he said.

The Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District has three public ramps along the river, but the sites are closed because of damage from flooding in 2010.

Beran said floats from Elkhorn Crossing Recreation Area to River West Park in Douglas County generally take between four to five hours, depending on river depths.

Contact the writer:

402-444-1127, david.hendee@owh.com