Wetland is Landowner's Dreamland

Randy Hoff, a businessman from Wisconsin, was looking for his own little slice of heaven.  He found it in Rock County, Nebraska.  An avid outdoorsman and wildlife enthusiast, Hoff wanted a large piece of property that he could use for hunting and recreation. Hoff also wanted a place he could restore to exceptional wildlife habitat. Hoff found what he was looking for when over 1,600 acres recently enrolled in the Wetlands Reserve Program(WRP) came up for sale.

Deuel County Farmer Passionate about Planting Trees

There aren't a lot of farmers in western Nebraska who can give a first-hand account of trying to farm during the dust bowl.  Harold Pigeon, a 92 year old farmer in Deuel County remembers the "dirty thirties" well, which may be why he's planted over 8,000 trees.
 

Conservation Takes Pressure off Pumpkin Creek Watershed

When Leo Hoehn bought his Banner County farmland in 1989 it came with 1,300 acre-feet of surface water rights out of Pumpkin Creek.  He used this water for irrigation, but in just four years the creek was dry.
 

Beginning Farmer Restores Grassland

It took seven years, but Deuel County farmer Lesa Franken was ready to give up - give up planting wheat.  After years of tilling, planting, watching the crop struggle to grow and then the disappointing harvest, Franken knew she needed to do something different with her crop ground.  Franken found help through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP).
 

Rotational Grazing System Reduces Weeds and Increases Stocking Rates

Turns out taking a break isn't just important for a healthy lifestyle.  It's also part of having a healthy pasture.  That's what a father and son team in Clay County learned when they enrolled their pastureland into the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP).
 

Grazing Goats Help Control Invasive Weeds

Controlling invasive noxious weeds is required by Nebraska weed laws, but what if one weed species is so obnoxious it just won't go away!  What can a person do?
 

NRCS Help Plant Seeds of Hope at Tribal Healing Garden

A small seed can grow into something great.  That is the symbolic idea behind the AiKiRuti Healing Garden.  AiKiRuti - pronounced I-key-ru-dee - is a project started by members of the Winnebago Tribe.
 

Wetlands Bring Back Dream of Abundant Wildlife

A fourth generation farmer near Dakota City, Neb., dreams of restoring wildlife back to the way it was when he was a boy.  Jim Bliven will be able to make his dream a reality with the help of the Natural Resources Conservation Service's (NRCS) Wetlands Reserve Enhancement Program (WREP).
 

Historic Site Preserved Through the Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program

An NRCS Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program (FRPP) easement will conserve 524 acres, which includes an area known as "Old Baldy" where the Lewis and Clark expedition visited in September of 1804.
 

Grassland Reserve Program Helps Nature Center Grow

The first USDA Grassland Reserve Program (GRP) easement to preserve native prairie became a reality according Natural Resources Conservation Service District Conservationist Dennis Schroeder in Lincoln, Neb.
 

NRCS Help Improves Irrigation System Resulting in Water and Fuel Savings

Phelps County farmer Vernon Nelson knew that he wanted to upgrade his irrigation system from flood irrigation to center pivot.  With over 3,000 irrigated acres Nelson wanted a system that was more efficient.
 

EQIP Project Generates Some Real Energy

An innovative Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) project is reducing contamination and odors from manure while creating a clean, sustainable source of electricity