Nebraska Environmental Trust

Project objectives were to implement conservation measures to improve the overall health and resilience of the stream system, including instream habitat, riparian areas, and the upland grassland community. By stabilizing the eroding banks to reduce sedimentation and improve the instream and riparian habitat conditions, the stream substrate for trout spawning, macro-invertebrates, and vegetative biodiversity is expected to improve. This report highlights these demonstration projects which were implemented in 2015 through 2022.

Rainwater Basin Wetland Reserve Enhancement Program Special Initiative. NET funds protect wetlands and provide increased flexibility and economic benefit for farm operators in the basin.

The Rainwater Basin Joint Venture (RWBJV) is a public/private partnership dedicated to finding those win-win solutions where habitat can be a value added part of a producers operation. With 72% of the historic wetland footprints intersected by pivot irrigation systems the RWBJV developed this grant in conjunction with agriculture industry including pivot companies (Lindsay, Reinke, T&L, and Valley) as well as precision irrigation consultants (Cropmetrics) to develop whole field solutions. The focus of these projects was to support wetland restoration and maximize irrigation inputs to the portions of the adjacent cropland based on crop water need. As part of this project the RWBJV partners worked with 12 landowners to develop these whole field solutions.

Nebraska contains more acres of wetlands than any surrounding state. These wetlands are very diverse and dynamic and include marshes, lakes, river and stream backwaters, oxbows, wet meadows, fens, forested swamps, and seeps. To help you explore the varying roles that wetlands can play, this site defines wetlands, discusses their importance and dynamics, identifies status and trends, describes conservation programs that benefit wetlands, and takes an in-depth look at Nebraska’s regional wetland complexes