The Upper Big Blue Natural Resources District is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year as it continues to work to protect Nebraska’s natural resources.
This year, the Upper Big Blue NRD will be working on improvements to recreation areas in the district including Oxbow Trail in Ulysses, Smith Creek near Utica, Pioneer Trails Recreation Area near Aurora and Bruce L. Anderson Recreation Area near York.
Upper Big Blue NRD manager Jack Wergin said the updates include installing a security light with a siren system and adding new restrooms. The UBBNRD will also install new playground equipment at Bruce L. Anderson Recreation Area and Pioneer Trails and new parking stalls and sidewalks that are more accessible for people with disabilities at Smith Creek and Oxbow Trail.
“We’re making a major effort to improve the facilities so that the people who use them can have a great summer,” Richard Bohaty, UBBNRD board member, said.
Bohaty said one of the biggest issues the UBBNRD will be working with this year is managing nitrate levels in the groundwater. He said the organization will take an in-depth look at areas in the district that are approaching the threshold of when action needs to be taken.
“[The nitrate levels] are not dangerous, but they’re at levels where we need to look into some of the farming practices and what we can do to manage this so they don’t get out of control where they become a problem,” he said.
The UBBNRD will use results of studies from the University of Nebraska and the United States Geological Service to determine if it needs to make changes to existing regulations.
Chrystal Houston, the public relations manager for the UBBNRD, said there are two main programs the UBBNRD is promoting to producers in order to help with this– the Nebraska Carbon Soil Project and the Water Quality Improvement Incentives Program.
The Nebraska Carbon Soil Project is a coalition between NRDs in the state, The Nature Conservancy and corporate partners that encourages agricultural practices that improve soil health, including diverse crop rotations, cover crops and no-till practices. The Water Quality Improvement Incentive Program offers incentives for people in specific areas who are using the agricultural practices outlined in the NCSP.
“We would love to see more producers get in touch with the NRD and find out which program would work best for their operation, so we can help support transitioning to those practices,” Houston said. “They’re really important for preventing additional leaching nitrate into drinking water and for protecting soil and water quality, more generally through improving soil health.”
Every year, the NRD works to manage water supply levels. In 2021, the water level in the district was measured at 8 feet, 7 inches above the allocation line, which is a line that indicates when it is necessary to allocate water for irrigation, Wergin said. The water level will be measured again this spring, and Wergin said the Upper Big Blue does not expect to see much of a change to it.
This year and next year, the UBBNRD will also continue to work with the City of Seward on the Seward Trail Project. The existing east trail is about three miles of trails from Plum Creek Park to South Columbia, and Wergin said the UBBNRD has an agreement with the City of Seward to add another five miles of trails to complete the loop around the city.
“It will run from South Columbia over to the fairgrounds and up the west side of Seward, and then through the north side, back to Plum Creek ballparks,” he said.
Seward, York and Hamilton counties are the only counties in Nebraska that have their own individual hazard mitigation plans, which are put in place with the goal to reduce loss of life and property during natural disasters, Wergin said. In the coming years, the UBBNRD will be working on updating them.
Since 2017, another one of the NRD’s main projects has continued to be Project GROW (Growing Rotational crops On Wellfield). Project GROW aims to improve soil health, decrease soil erosion, improve water holding capacity and maintain profitability on a 160-acre plot of land just east of the new ball field complex in York. According to its website, it does this by using no-till, diverse cover crops and proven crop rotations.
The NRD also has a Tree Conservation Program that allows people to bulk order a variety of trees from their website. The NRD will assist with planting for any orders of 150 or more trees. Houston said the program facilitated the planting of approximately 19,000 trees throughout the district last year. The NRD is accepting orders up until March 30.
“In celebration of our 50 years of tree planting in the district, we’re going to do something a little different this year and offer each community within our district the opportunity to do a ceremonial tree planting,” Houston said. “We will reimburse the cost of a nursery stock tree up to $300 per community.”
The UBBNRD also offers a $2,000 scholarship for district residents who are going to be studying natural resources or a related field at a Nebraska college or university. Applications are due March 25 and are available on the UBBNRD website.
“We want to encourage more young people to, of course, stay in Nebraska for their education but also to incite their passion about natural resources careers,” Houston said.
