April 2008
In This Issue:
- Message from the Executive Director
- Nebraska Environmental Trust Announces 2008 Grants
- Grantee Seminars in Lincoln, Grand Island & Scottsbluff
- Trust takes part in Nebraska Outdoor Expo 2008 at Kearney
- A Peek at 2008 Grant Projects
Message from the Executive Director
It appears that April showers (or in parts of Nebraska, snow showers) will bring May flowers this year. Let’s hope we continue to get some much needed precipitation across the state. We completed our Grantee Seminars across the state. We held the first meeting in Lincoln on April 8th and were privileged to have the Lieutenant Governor, Rick Sheehy, address the group. Then we traveled to Grand Island on Friday, April 11th and Scottsbluff on Monday, April 14th, for the last Grantee Seminars.
On April 3rd we held our Technical Reviewer Committee (TAC) appreciation Luncheon in Lincoln to show our gratitude to the individuals that volunteer their time and expertise to help us review our grant applications. The TAC is a very important part of the grant process and their input is invaluable. Following the luncheon we held our second quarter Board Meeting and approved the 2008 grant awards.
We are excited to get out and see the 2008 projects start up, as well as stopping by to see grants from past years as the weather warms up this spring.
Mark A. Brohman
Executive Director
Nebraska Environmental Trust Announces 2008 Grants
At a meeting in Lincoln on April 3, the board of the Nebraska Environmental Trust announced that 77 projects will receive $14,798,718.00 in lottery proceeds for natural resource work in Nebraska. This is the 15th year of grants from the Trust, which has provided over $126 million dollars in lottery revenue to preserve and protect the air, water and land of our state. Some of the projects receiving funding include:
- North Platte River Invasive Species Control with the High Plains Weed Management Association
- Schramm Bluffs Preservation Project with The Nebraska Land Trust Incorporated
- Eastern Saline Wetlands Project with the City of Lincoln.
A complete listing of all approved 2008 grants can be found on the Nebraska Environmental Trust web site at www.environmentaltrust.org.
Grantee Seminar Photos:
Audience at Grantee Seminar in Lincoln (left). Lieutenant Governor Rick Sheehy addressing the group (right).
Grantee Seminar in Grand Island (left). Mark Borhman, Executive Director of the Trust speaks to grantees present at the seminar (right).
Grantee Seminar in Scottsbluff. High Plains Weed Management Association is one of the grant recipients (left).Brohman with Hod Kosman of Platte River Basin Environments (right).
Trust takes part in Nebraska Outdoor Expo 2008 at Kearney
The Trust recently took part in the Nebraska Outdoor Expo 2008 at Kearney from April 17 - 19, 2008. The three day event is a family oriented event featuring a wide variety of activities and exhibits that are provided for participation hands on. Twelve general activities were included in the Expo: Archery; Boating; Camping and Park Experiences; Dog Training; Fishing; Fish and Wildlife Management; Hunting; Law Enforcement; Natural World Encounters; Shooting; Trapping; Wildlife viewing and birding. Many school children attended the event. Event participants went away with Trust sunglasses and Trust meadowlark tattoos.
A Peek at 2008 Grant Projects
Schramm Bluffs Preservation Project -The Nebraska Land Trust Incorporated
The Nebraska Land Trust will receive $1,100,000 for the “Schramm Bluffs Preservation Project,” to permanently protect sensitive environmental resources on private land in southwestern Sarpy County. Land will be protected through the purchase of voluntary land preservation agreements known as conservation easements from willing landowners.
According to Dave Sands, Executive Director of the Nebraska Land Trust, the Schramm Bluffs Preservation Project presents a rare conservation opportunity where a number of private landowners have expressed interest in permanently protecting their land from subdivision and development. “As I often say, only landowners can open the door to permanent protection of private land. In this case, the NET recognized that many doors were open, several properties are contiguous to each other, and it was clear that there are significant resources to protect.”
At the heart of the bluffs is the 331-acre Schramm State Park, which has been designated as an Important Bird Area by the National Audubon Society, due to a diverse assortment of migrating songbirds that visit the wooded hills and ravines each spring. In addition, the bluffs border the Platte River which has been designated as a Biologically Unique Landscape, where endangered least terns and threatened piping plovers nest on sand bars, while endangered pallid sturgeons use the river itself. The area also contains eastern oak-hickory woodland near the western edge of its range, along with restored and remnant tallgrass prairies.
Like most healthy eco-systems, habitat, wildlife, and watersheds are not confined to park boundaries so the future of this 11,000-acre district is largely in private hands. The Nebraska Land Trust will use the $1,100,000 grant to establish conservation easements on private land that will protect this unique landscape in the midst of the state’s most populous region. Given existing development pressure in Nebraska’s fastest growing county, including the proposed construction of a new interstate exit at Pflug Road, Sands believes that the time for conservation may be limited.
“Fortunately, many landowners want to preserve agricultural, historical, and natural resources in the area,” Sands said. “For some families, there has been a tradition of good stewardship for more than 150 years. Conservation easements can offer an opportunity to assure that this legacy lasts far into the future.” In addition to preserving wildlife habitat and plant communities, land protection will help to preserve water quality in the Platte River, as well as scenic vistas that are viewed by millions of people each year from nearby state parks, public attractions, and I-80.
Besides the Nebraska Environmental Trust, other funding partners in this project include the Cooper Foundation, the Abel Foundation, and the Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District. Expertise and assistance has also been provided by the Fontenelle Nature Association, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, Nebraska State Historical Society, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “It has been a collaborative effort from the start,” Sands said, “because it offers a true win/win approach to the preservation of this beautiful landscape.”
Interested Schramm area landowners who have not yet been contacted by the Nebraska Land Trust are invited call their office at 402/438-5263.
North Platte Invasive Species Control Project - High Plains Weed Management Association
The funds from the Trust will be used to remove and control invasive species in the riparian areas of the North Platte River watershed. The current drought in Western Nebraska has forced landowners to evaluate every available option for water conservation. The High Plains Weed Management Association (consisting of eight panhandle counties) has taken on the responsibility to address the water loss caused by the expansive growth of invasive species. Three main invasive species (Russian Olive, Saltcedar and Phragmites) are targeted to be controlled. Approximately 14,300 acres is expected to be treated.
The educational process will use newsletters, workshops and web pages to help landowners and others understand the value of cost sharing on this project. The project will also have a positive effect locally on the work force by creating jobs to stimulate the economy of the panhandle. Monitoring sites and test plots for existing and new technologies will be established. This will ensure the best results achievable.
The Russian Olive will be sheared, stump treated and removed to areas not in the floodplain. Saltcedar and Phragmites will be treated and left standing to ensure complete eradication. The High Plains Weed Management Association will be leveraging these funds with input from conservation partners and landowner participation. This collaboration will assist in restoring the riparian areas to their more natural states. The project will reduce water consumption benefiting the entire Platte River watershed. The possibility of flooding due to debris in the flood plain will be greatly reduced after it is removed. Restoring native habitat and pastureland will have a desired effect on the treated areas. This project will enhance the aesthetics of the entire watershed.
Prescribed Burn Task Force Education and Expansion Project - Prescribed Burn Task Force
Prescribed fire is an effective, economical tool used in the management of grasslands; restoring native prairie and grassland bird habitat. In 1996, interest in prescribed fire among land users was increasing. The need for safe uses of fire as a management tool became evident.
Out of that need a group of volunteer firemen, federal and state agency personnel and private organizations partnered together to form the first of it's kind in Nebraska: The Prescribed Burn Task Force (PBTF). The PBTF encompassed four counties in south central Nebraska: Buffalo, Custer, Dawson and Lincoln. In eleven years the PBTF has successfully taught 1255 people at its spring burn schools and completed demonstration burns on 28,780 acres. The PBTF hopes to continue quality schools and the purchasing of 5 additional Tool Caches with the grant provided by the Environmental Trust.
Upcoming Events
- Invasive Species Conference, May 6-8, 2008, High Plains Weed Management Association, Gering
- Children's Groundwater Festival, May 13, 2008, The Groundwater Foundation, Central Community College & College Park, Grand Island
- Waterfest, June 14, 2008, City of Lincoln, Homes Lake
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