Located in Bellevue, Nebraska, United States, on the outskirts of Omaha, the Fontenelle Forest Nature Center is a prominent nature preserve and environmental education center that showcases the region's rich ecosystem and unique biodiversity. The Fontenelle Forest, a 1,200-acre forest situated along the Missouri River, is a prominent part of the center. It was designated as a National Audubon Society Landmark in 1971 and, in 2007, it became the first state wildlife area in the United States to be designated as a National Historic Marker.

Established in 1913 by Dr. Harold G. Barrows, Fontenelle Forest Nature Center offers an incredible range of activities, services, and features catering to the diverse interests of both locals and tourists. Their program variety spans interactive nature exhibits, walking trails covering all levels of difficulty, school and group educational programs and camps, horticulture and educational activities, eagle-watching sessions during winter months, as well as state-of-the-art water and habitat restoration facilities. Visitors are provided a unique insight into Fontenelle's commitment to preservation and reintroduction of species native to the region.

Within Fontenelle Forest, trails weave through variously forested and prairie regions, one of which features a three-acre woodland known as the Acorn Acres Family Nature Area. These smaller woodland locations are integral for reintroducing important habitats for prairie-dwelling species, in an effort to reclaim environments gradually lost and depleted. Large sections of wetland forest within the forest are crucial maintenance targets for river plains.

One interesting feature of Fontenelle Forest is the Wetland Wildlife Viewing Area. In conjunction with Audubon Nebraska and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the renovation and adaptation of the area into wetlands has seen encouraging results. Habitats of neotropical migratory birds and other local water species provide critical breeding grounds. Wetland restoration also relies heavily on volunteers who participate in plant removals, seed collection, seed germination and planting new seedlings.

Visitors to the nature center are presented with in-depth storytelling, educational panels, and themed display areas that beautifully weave the natural ecology and the state's human history. An exhibit that exemplifies this particularly well is the restored trading post, which shows visitors early evidence of resource management for sustenance purposes.

Additionally, Fontenelle Forest Nature Center is no stranger to successful conservation efforts. The species re-introduction initiative stands out. In recent years, multiple target reintroduction programs have generated significant progress; some of the most obvious signs of the program's effectiveness can be seen in population re-growth of sandhill crane populations in Fontenelle wetlands, while reintroduction and aggressive conservation has helped Bald Eagle populations thrive once again in American skies.

If these successes provide an accurate guide of current conservation efforts - wildlife conservation is viewed as essential to what Fontenelle stands for. One event where such was shown took place early in the opening years, when staff introduced an orphan beaver into the Fontenelle wetlands area. Through these examples, efforts to engage with conservation targets emerge, despite the odds against survival of target re-introduction projects.

Guided wildlife tours, including eagle-watching and animal tracking, along with educational courses, continually play central roles in driving a new era of conservationism and connecting inhabitants with their collective land identity.