District Conservationist


Timothy Schaaf
District Conservationist
Lower Loup NRD

The Lower Loup NRD, which is the largest NRD in Nebraska based on a geographical area of 1923 square miles, comprises 10.3% of the state of Nebraska and 52% of the Loup Basin. All or parts of 15 counties are located within the Lower Loup NRD boundaries. Cathie is responsible for ten of these 15 counties, including eight field offices and 19 federal employees. Field office locations are as follows:

• Albion (Boone County)
• Broken Bow (Custer County)
• Burwell (Garfield, Loup, and Wheeler Counties)
• Fullerton (Nance County)
• Loup City (Sherman County)
• Ord (Valley County)
• St. Paul (Howard County)
• Spalding (Greeley County)

Resource Needs and Concerns

The Lower Loup NRD resource needs are as varied as the NRD is large.

• Rangeland and pastureland resource needs are to improve range condition through the developemt of water, cross fencing, and seeding areas in poor condition, and cedar tree and leafy spurge control.
• Cropland resource needs are to control excessive erosion from both wind and water, improve surface and groundwater quality, and improve irrigation water management on cropland.
• Wildlife habitat resource needs include improving existing wildlife areas through tree, shrub, and grass plantings.

Priorities Address by NRCS

Primary Goals

• Improve range condition through planned grazing systems on 50,000 acres with its related practices such as livestock pipelines, tanks, wells, cross fencing and brush control.
• Control excessive erosion on marginal cropland and rangeland through range and pasture seeding, proper location of water and salt, cross fencing, etc.

Secondary goals for the Lower Loup Grazingland Management Area are:

 

• Improve water quality through sediment retention practices such as terraces, crop residue management, conservation cropping sequences, cover crops, animal waste management systems, riparian buffer strips and other soil loss reduction practices
• Improve the carrying capacity of rangeland through an aggressive cedar tree control program.
• Initiate a leafy spurge control program through the use of biological and chemical controls.

Primary programs and services

1. EQIP
   
   Through the establishment of priority areas and continued efforts outside the priority area, cost-share assistance is made available to producers in the Lower Loup NRD.
    
2. NSWCP
3. WHIP
4. Corners for Wildlife Program
5. Nebraska Buffer Strip Program
6. CRP
7. Pheasants Forever Program
8. WRP