Conservation partners, agriculture producers, and researchers will gather in Grand Island on Thursday, February 2 for the 22nd annual Rainwater Basin Joint Venture Informational Seminar. This long-running event has become a mid-winter tradition for Nebraska’s natural resource professionals. It provides an opportunity for RWBJV partners, landowners, and others to meet,
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Rainwater Basin Wetland Management District says goodbye this month to two departing staff members and welcomes a new deputy project leader. Brandon Jones has served for the last five years as the Deputy Project Leader at the Rainwater Basin WMD, working in all facets
As part of the Berggren Pheasant Plan, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission is providing incentives to landowners enrolling in USDA’s Continuous-CRP. The Berggren Pheasant plan seeks to enhance pheasant habitat within prioritized areas of the state, including the Rainwater Basin area, and to increase recreational opportunities for hunting. This
Mark your calendar for February 2, and plan on attending the 2017 RWBJV Informational Seminar at the Hotel Grand Conference Center in Grand Island. The Informational Seminar is a once-a-year opportunity for conservation professionals, agriculture producers, scholars, and others to meet, exchange ideas, and learn from each other. Agenda details
The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service will provide cost-share assistance through its Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) to fill abandoned irrigation reuse pits in the watersheds of priority Rainwater Basin wetlands. Rainwater Basin Joint Venture partners have additional cost-share dollars available to fill pits identified as high priorities for removal.
The Pintail Wildlife Management Area (WMA) is owned by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission (NGPC) and is located five miles south and 2 miles east of Aurora in Hamilton County. Pintail WMA contains approximately 360 acres of playa wetland and 118 acres of upland habitat. The 478 acres of
The Nebraska Sandhills contains the largest remaining grassland area in the U.S., along with abundant rivers, lakes, and wetlands. These habitats are an important resource for a variety of bird species including waterfowl and grassland-nesting birds. Recently, several conservation partners, including the Rainwater Basin Joint Venture, Sandhills Task Force, U.S.
The Little Blue Natural Resources District will receive $208,865 from the Nebraska Environmental Trust to help integrate restored wetlands into irrigated agriculture operations. Wetlands can provide farm income through grazing and haying, while also providing wildlife habitat. The “Puddles under the Pivots” grant will complement major funding provided by a
The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission will receive $75,000 from the Nebraska Environmental Trust for its “Rainwater Basin Wetland Management” grant. The grant will help with ongoing work to control invasive plants such as reed canary grass, river bulrush, and hybrid cattail in wetlands on both private and public lands
Over the past year, several sediment removal projects were conducted on wetlands within the Rainwater Basin Wetland Management District (WMD). You may have noticed numerous large mounds of dirt throughout the district in such places as: Funk WPA, Macon Lakes WPA, and Massie WPA. These projects were completed in conjunction