Welcome to a holiday edition of Marsh Musings. We hope you and yours have been enjoying the holidays as much as we have. The holiday season is surrounded by traditions, family gatherings, heaps of delicious, unhealthy food, and of course, the creation of new memories. The holidays are also the only time of the year when people, even biologists, are actually excited about and encourage deforestation of evergreen trees. One cannot help but smile as they drive down streets and see the twinkling glow coming from homes displaying their tree in front of their picture window.

It is also time for us to start pondering our goals we hope to accomplish over the upcoming year. Whether we want to admit it or not, we all make them, regardless of how big or small they may be. Every year it is the same things: lose weight, eat healthier, go to bed earlier, manage time better, get more sleep, save more money. This year, we are encouraging you to make a resolution of a different type.

This year, we challenge you to finally make the short drive to visit Cheyenne Bottoms and the Kansas Wetlands Education Center along the Wetlands and Wildlife Scenic Byway. We have been sharing our stories and adventures of a place very special and dear to us over the past months, but we encourage you to get outside and experience Cheyenne Bottoms for yourself.

If you are like us, resolutions come and go. We have great intentions, but they somehow seem to fall by the wayside. People say resolutions are more successful when shared with friends, so this year we invite you to share your experience of Cheyenne Bottoms and the scenic Byway with us. Send us your stories, pictures, or better yet, let us take you on a tour through the Bottoms and show you why it is truly one of the Eight Wonders of Kansas. Come out to Cheyenne Bottoms and see why people from all across the globe have visited your backyard. Until next time. Happy holidays to you and yours!