Nebraska
Environmental Trust700 S 16th Street
PO Box 94913
Lincoln, NE 68509-4913
info@environmentaltrust.org
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Nebraska
Environmental Trust| What We've Done | > | Grantee Stories |
Below are some stories about the work of Nebraska Environmental Trust grantees.
Three Grants: $630,000
In October 1997, the City of Omaha lost tens of thousands of trees in the most devastating snowstorm of the century. The community responded by founding "Branching Out," a program of exemplary collaboration to replant the urban canopy.
"Many of the trees now being removed were planted decades ago by Nebraskans who knew they might never enjoy the full shade of their branches," says John Gottschalk, Branching Out Co-Chair. "We must now plant so future generations can enjoy the green canopy that contributes so much to the region's beauty."
Besides aesthetic appeal, these plantings provide important community benefits:
Grant: $100,000
In 1994, Dempster Industries of Beatrice saw a need for a new kind of recycling collection trailer. They were awarded a grant to develop a trailer that could be hauled with a pickup truck, then loaded and unloaded with a forklift-equipment any small community has access to. The trailers, manufactured from recycled plastic and steel, are now marketed internationally. "Recycling helps everyone in the entire community," says Dave Suey, President of Dempster. "Most people, once they understand recycling, realize the almost patriotic need for it."
Dempster gave the first ten trailers to area communities as a demonstration project. The trailers were wildly popular, and project requests to purchase them began pouring in to the Nebraska Environmental Trust. A sub-granting program funded by the Trust and administered by the Nebraska State Recycling Program has allowed numerous communities to purchase trailers and develop recycling collection programs in their community.
Visit our grantee partner site: www.alleycatdepco.com
Four Grants: $423,310
A significant environmental challenge facing Nebraska is how to properly utilize and dispose of livestock manures. With the assistance of the University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension and the Nebraska Environmental Trust, small livestock producers are implementing on-farm strategies that minimize the impact of livestock on the environment.
The Livestock Producer Environmental Assistance Project is a statewide cost share program that provides livestock producers with financial assistance to implement environmentally-safe practices. Using Trust grant funds, producers can receive a 50-50 cost share for constructed wetlands, low-water stream crossings and vegetative buffer strips that prevent runoff from affecting water quality. The project is targeted at small-scale producers that are often exempt from waste control regulations that cover larger operations.
For more information about participating in the Livestock Producer Environmental Assistance Project, contact a local Cooperative Extension office or Mick Reynolds, Livestock Producer Environmental Assistance Project coordinator, at (402) 469-0156.
Five Grants: $2,141,750
Nebraska was the first state in the nation to establish an Aquatic Habitat Stamp Program to dedicate funds to lake rehabilitation. The Aquatic Habitat Program plans to rehabilitate Nebraska's major lakes and reservoirs over a ten-year plan. Don Gabelhouse, Director of Fisheries for the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, said the funding provided by the program was adequate for 17 projects. "But when we went to the people, we ended up with 51 lakes on the list. So we had to find other funds."
The Trust has provided support for 24 of the 43 projects completed by the Aquatic Habitat Program to date. According to Randy Winter, Aquatic Habitat Program Manager, Trust funding has "provided the state matching funds critical to secure more than $5 million federal dollars for these projects. Without Trust grants, it is safe to assume that at least a fourth or more of these projects would not have been completed."
Visit our grantee partner site: www.ngpc.state.ne.us
Three Grants: $133,400
The blowout penstemon is like a rare jewel, and it belongs to Nebraska. It is a strikingly beautiful flower that occurs only in the Nebraska Sandhills, and has almost disappeared in this century. It was even thought to be extinct in the 1940s.
For more than a decade, researchers at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln have been unraveling the complex reasons for the decline of the blowout penstemon and devising strategies to propagate large numbers of penstemon seedlings for transplantation back into the wild. With the assistance of the Nebraska Environmental Trust, the recovery team has been able to replant blowout penstemon seedlings with recovery rates that have changed the plant’s status from endangered to threatened. “A recovery of this magnitude is unprecedented, but thanks to the support of the Trust we have the resources to do it,” says James Stubbendieck of UNL. “What better gift could we give to the future than to save this special Nebraska wildflower?
The Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District has pioneered many on-farm demonstrations through Nebraska Environmental Trust grants. The demonstration sites seek to combine the production needs of landowners with water conservation and protection objectives.
Central's latest demonstration sites employ subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) systems on pivot corners. SDI systems can dramatically reduce a producer's need for water. Although not all of the data has been collected, one of the three demonstration sites used as much as 40% less irrigation water in the 2002 season compared to neighboring fields using more traditional irrigation methods. "I was a little skeptical at first, but these results have won me over. In drought conditions, this has been remarkable," said Marcia Trompke, Conservation Director for CNPPID.
Funding from the Nebraska Environmental Trust provided the project with three of the first seven spin-clean filters in use in the world. The unique filter systems prevent sediment from clogging the buried tapelines that carry the water and help make SDI tapes practical in the Holdrege soils of the region. Other equipment purchased with Trust funding has also had far-reaching benefits that were not necessarily designed as a part of the conservation package. Tipping rain gauges, linked to Central's Control Center through remote transmission units (RTUs) and placed at the demonstration sites track the intensity of rain events in real time. When intense rain events occur, flows from dams on the Platte can be adjusted immediately to prevent untold devestation to downstream communities.
Visit our grantee partner site: www.cnppid.com
Two Grants: $160,000
Improving groundwater quality is one of the goals of the South Platte Natural Resources District. Using Trust grants, South Platte NRD has begun an incentive program to encourage producers in the southern Panhandle to switch from furrow irrigation to more-efficient center pivot systems.
“Current research has shown that converting furrow-irrigated acres to center-pivot irrigation and using fertigation appears to offer the greatest opportunity to improve groundwater quality using current technologies,” says Ken Quandt, SPNRD water resources coordinator. Grant funds from the Nebraska Environmental Trust are used to reimburse landowners for 30% of the center-pivot equipment costs. The project has been very popular, with good response from local producers.
Visit our grantee partner site: www.spnrd.org
Six Grants: $742,000
When habitat projects require prairie restoration, often the first people to call are Bill and Jan Whitney, founders of the Prairie Plains Resource Institute in Aurora, Nebraska. Since 1980 PPRI has specialized in high-diversity plantings, using regionally indigenous genetic populations. Through a grant from the Nebraska Environmental Trust, Prairie Plains was able to purchase equipment and supplies to plant 541 acres of high-diversity prairie in central and eastern Nebraska.
"Our grant from the Nebraska Environmental Trust attracted lots of other players to our program. We're seeing a strong interest in high-diversity restorations," said Bill Whitney. Additional grant funds allowed for the purchase of a 396 acre parcel along the Platte River for development as a center for PPRI’s restoration and educational programs.
Visit our grantee partner site: www.prairieplains.org
Three Grants: $1,500,000
In Nebraska's panhandle, Nebraskans are working together to preserve unique environments with support from the Nebraska Environmental Trust. The goal of the Clive Ostenberg Flyway project, sponsored by Platte River Basin Environments, is to protect critical wildlife areas in the North Platte River Valley from development.
"We are so close to the Front Range, and that is pushing our agenda," said Hod Kosman, one of the founders of the group. "People come here because they want space. They tend to build a house overlooking the marsh and then we have a scattering of 20-acre developments over the landscape. But if you're going to have an impact for wildlife, you need to have scale, not a pothole here and an island there."
Platte River Environments receives funding from the Nebraska Environmental Trust for the Clive Ostenberg Flyway project. Their long-term goal is to create a corridor of critical wildlife areas in the North Platte River Valley, stretching from eastern Wyoming to Lake McConaughy and maintain access for the public. The group places a premium on good science, bringing together experts from agencies such as the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, Ducks Unlimited and the Nature Conservancy to meet with landowners and prioritize properties for conservation and restoration.
Kosman praises the support from the Nebraska Environmental Trust in allowing the organization to plan and implement strategies as opportunities arise. "Timing is everything," he said. "The landowners and families aren't going to wait for a year while we 'think about it'. Time is really critical. The fastest growing economy in the United States is 2 1/2 hours south of here. Wouldn't they, ten years ago, wish they had started this process?"