Atlanta, Nebraska may not be a destination for most people, but Atlanta Waterfowl Production Area (WPA) will be a spring migration destination after this year’s extensive wetland and watershed restoration. Atlanta WPA is owned and managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and is one of the largest
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,
Join us on Feb 7, 2017, for the Playa Wetland Ecology Symposium at the 77th Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference at the Cornhusker Hotel in Lincoln, NE. On March 17, 2011, the RWBJV and Playa Lakes Joint Venture co-hosted the first Playa Wetland Ecology Symposium in Grand Island, Nebraska. More than
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
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
Vegetation management is a necessary component of wetland conservation in the Rainwater Basin region. Historically, these wetlands were regularly disturbed by fire and intensive grazing from bison and other ungulate species. If these natural disturbances are not replaced by human-directed management, such as cattle grazing, controlled burns, and herbicide spraying,
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
