Middle Niobrara NRD Receives Grant from
Nebraska Environmental Trust
Lincoln, NE – May 7, 2021 – Middle Niobrara NRD announced today that it will receive $810,000 from the Nebraska Environmental Trust for the “Long Pine Creek Watershed (LPCW) Restoration Phase 4” project. The Trust Board announced funding for the project at its meeting on April 8, 2021 in Lincoln. The project is one of the 113 projects receiving $18,350,515 in grant awards from the Nebraska Environmental Trust this year. Of these, 42 were new applications and 71 are carry-over projects.
This project takes a stakeholder driven, watershed-wide approach to improving surface and groundwater pollution, stabilizing streams, and restoring aquatic habitat. Nebraska Environmental Trust (NET) funds, combined with in-kind NRCS, NDEE 319, and project sponsors labor, will be used to implement stream restoration projects near Old Highway 7, 1 mile upstream and downstream on Sand Draw Creek, Brown County, NE. The specific activities that will be implemented as part of this project will include: stream assessment, preliminary and final design plans, permitting, construction, and construction oversight of stream restoration projects addressing stream instability, head cutting, scouring, erosion, excess sedimentation, aquatic habitat loss, and streambank degradation issues. Additionally, this project will include implementation of agricultural best management practices (BMPs) and a technician to assist the watershed coordinator who will continue working closely with the landowners in the LPCW with project implementation, education, and outreach.
The Nebraska Legislature created the Nebraska Environmental Trust in 1992. Using revenue from the Nebraska Lottery, the Trust has provided over $349 million in grants to over 2,400 projects across the state. Anyone – citizens, organizations, communities, farmers, and businesses – can apply for funding to protect habitat, improve water quality, and establish recycling programs in Nebraska. The Nebraska Environmental Trust works to preserve, protect, and restore our natural resources for future generations.
