The Middle Niobrara river is an attractive, scenic river. Many visitors tread their way down the river on canoes and is one of the best routes to view on a canoe or innertube. Invasive weeds, like purple loosestrife, threathen these waters and many areas are inaccessable. Because of its exceptional and diverse features, Congress designated a portion of the Niobrara River as a National Scenic River in 1991. The Niobrara National Scenic River stretches 76 miles from Borman Bridge near Valentine, Nebraska, to the Highway 137 bridge north of Newport, Nebraska. The scenic river corridor encompasses over 20,000 acres of private and public lands, including portions of Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge, Smith Falls State Park, and the Nature Conservancy's Niobrara Valley Preserve. A majority of the land in this designation is privately owned.