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Upper Republican NRD   

        Image of Upper Republican NRD coverage area

 

 

Office Information

Name Address Phone Numbers
Nadine Bishop
District Conservationist
 		 1411 Broadway
P.O. Box 1079
Imperial, NE 69033-1079
 		 Phone: (308) 882-4263
Fax: (308) 882-3919
 


 

  • District Conservationist Biographical Sketch
  • Resource Needs and Concerns
  • Priorities Addressed by NRCS
  • Primary Programs and Services
  • Special Projects
     
  • Upper Republican NRD homepage


    District Conservationist Biographical Sketch

    Photo of Upper Republican NRD District Conservationist Nadine Bishop

    Nadine L. Bishop
    District Conservationist
    Upper Republican NRD

     

  • 1977 -- Graduated from Fort Hays State University with Bachelor of Science Degree in Biological Sciences.
  • 1981 -- Graduated from Fort Hays State University with a Master of Science Degree in Biological Sciences.
    Began NRCS career in June, 1980, as a Range Conservationist at the McCook Field Office. Transferred to Ainsworth, NE in September, 1981, as a Range Conservationist. Worked as District Conservationist in Trenton, NE from September, 1982 through July, 1985 and in Hayes Center, NE from July, 1985 through July, 1991.

    Accepted the Imperial District Conservationist position in July, 1991. This position is responsible for all conservation efforts in the Benkelman, Imperial, and Grant Field Offices.

    Resource Needs and Concerns

    The Upper Republican NRD has a total of 1,7238,070 acres which make up the counties of Chase, Dundy, and Perkins. Approximately 56% of the total acres is cropland with 47% being irrigated. Approximately 40% is rangeland. The major crops in the NRD are wheat, corn, and dry edible beans with significant acres of sunflowers, millet, potatoes alfalfa, and forage sorghum. More than 30,000 acres of dryland cropland are enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program. The average annual precipitation ranges from 19 inches in the East to 18 inches in the West. Irrigation is an essential part of the farming of the NRD. The majority of the 452,100 acres of irrigated cropland are center pivot irrigated from the 3556 groundwater wells.

    A diversity of resource needs and concerns exist and have been identified by local leaders within the Upper Republican NRD. These concerns in ranked order include:
    1. Groundwater Quality
    2. Rangeland Health
    3. Riparian Area Improvement
    4. Wetlands
    5. Soil Erosion on Cropland
    6. Wildlife Habitat



     

    Primary programs and services NRCS works with and provides technical assistance to landowners and landusers so that the landowners/users can develop and implement conservation plans which address the natural resource concerns and needs of the land.

    NRCS assists landowners and landusers utilize a number of programs which provide cost-share assistance. These programs include:

    • EQIP -- Environmental Quality Incentives Program
    • CRP -- Conservation Reserve Program
    • WHIP -- Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program
    • SIP -- Stewardship Incentive Program
    • NSWCP -- Nebraska Soil and Water Conservation Program

    NRCS works closely with area schools to provide hands-on environmental education experiences. Outdoor classrooms have been established with the Venango, Grant, and Elsie Elementary Schools. NRCS staff members are involved in a number of presentations for SCORE (Science Camps Offer Rewarding Experiences) Camp. NRCS staff also volunteer as educators and counselors for the Nebraska Range Youth Camp which is sponsored by the Nebraska Section, Society for Range Management.



    Special Projects

    • Livestock Well-Being Project

      NRCS is working with five local ranchers in cooperation with the Grazingland Animal Nutrition Lab at Texas A&M University on this project. Dietary crude protein (%CP) and digestible organic matter (%DOM) are estimated through the analysis of fecal samples wit near infra-red reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS), a method pioneered by Dr. Jerry Stuth, director of the lab. Samples of warm season grasses in sand and hardland pastures, irrigated grasses, native subirrigated meadows, and cornstalks are being analyzed to provide accurate information about the forage quality throughout the year in terms of nutrition for the grazing animal. Results from the NIRS can be entered into a computer program called Nutrition Balance Analyzer (NUTBAL), which produces a nutritional balance report for protein and net energy which is specific to the kind, class, and breed of animal grazing each specific pasture.
    • Republican Valley Limited Irrigation Demonstration Project

      This project is a cooperative effort of the West Central Research and Extension Center, NRCS, Upper Republican NRD, and local producers. The purpose of the project is to implement a demonstration program to educate producers about irrigation and nitrogen management strategies to reduce nitrate loading in the Republican River Basin. Three of the five sites are located in the Upper Republican NRD. Four water treatments and four fertilizer treatments are utilized at each site. Field days are held in the fall to highlight the results to date of this project. 1999 will be the fourth year of the project.

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