the prairie blade summer, 2016 - nebraska wildlife federation · 2016-10-06 · the program, one...

The Prairie Blade Newsletter of the Nebraska Wildlife Federation

Summer, 2016

Board of Directors

Jim Johnson, Lincoln

President

Marge Kennedy, Malcolm Vice President Programs, Secretary

Christine Kuhn, Lincoln

Vice President Administration, Development Chair

Dr. Russ Souchek, Seward Immediate Past President,

Public Policy Chair

Gene Oglesby, Lincoln NWF Delegate, Leadership Chair

Bruce Kennedy, Malcolm

Conservation & Education Chair

Buffalo Bruce, Chadron Mike Coe, Crete

Dianna Failla, Omaha Patrick Hartman, Lincoln

Kyle Johnson, Omaha Dr. Marian Maas, Omaha

Fran Siedhoff, Crete Jarel Vinduska, Gretna

Staff

Duane Hovorka Executive Director

Carolyn Butler

Monarch & Pollinator Coordinator

Cristina Colling Clean Energy Consultant

Nebraska Wildlife Federation

PO Box 81437 Lincoln, NE 68501

(402) 477-1008

www.NebraskaWildlife.org

National Wildlife Federation

David Ellenberger, Denver

NWF Regional Representative

New Officers and Directors

Make a Difference!


members elected officers for the

coming year at the Annual Gather-

ing May 21.

James “J.J.” Johnson was re-elected

President, and will chair the board

of directors. Marge Kennedy of

Malcolm was re-elected Vice Presi-

dent Programs.

Gene Oglesby of Lincoln was re-

elected Delegate to the National

Wildlife Federation, and Christine

Kuhn of Lincoln was elected Vice

President Administration.

The Federation added two new

board members. Kyle Johnson of

Omaha manages the landscaping at

Prairie Blade Summer, 2016

The Prairie Blade is the official newsletter of the Nebraska

Wildlife Federation, Nebraska’s independent state affiliate

of the National Wildlife Federation. Copyright 2016, Ne-

braska Wildlife Federation. Contact the Federation office

for reprint rights.

On the Cover: A bison at Fort Niobrara National Wildlife

Refuge, photo by John and Karen and Hollingsworth, through US FWS.

Joslyn Art Museum, with a focus on

native Nebraska plants that benefit

pollinators and other wildlife.

Dianna Failla is President of the

Urban Bird and Nature Alliance in

Omaha. The Alliance was created to

value, protect, educate and support

the preservation of nature in urban

environments. She was awarded a

Governor’s Points of Light award in

2014 for her volunteer efforts.

Re-elected to the Board were Dr.

Marian Maas from Bellevue, Buffa-

lo Bruce from Chadron, Dr. Russ

Souchek from Seward, and Steve

Kryger from Papillion (Kryger later

resigned from the Board).

Use your talents for good, not

evil! Volunteer on a Federation

committee or to help with wildlife

projects. Email our office at

[email protected], or call

us at (402) 477-1008.

Remembering Shawn Simon

Condolences to the friends and

family of Shawn Simon of Omaha,

who passed away in June. Shawn

loved wildlife and the outdoors, and

we appreciate the family’s memorial

contribution in his name.

Prairie Blade

Tornado warnings and storms

dampened the attendance but not

the interest at the Nebraska Wild-

life Federation’s 2016 Annual

Gathering May 21 at the Papio

Missouri Natural Resources Dis-

trict headquarters building on the

outskirts of Omaha.

Nancy Finley, Associate Regional

Director for Natural Resources

Stewardship & Science for the Na-

tional Park Service, gave a very

interesting overview of the Park

Service operations in Nebraska.

This year is the National Park Ser-

vice 100th anniversary, and Ameri-

ca has a lot to celebrate. Iconic

parks like the Grand Canyon, Yel-

lowstone, Yosemite, and Smoky

Mountains are the places people

think about first, and with good

reason. These incredible places

belong to all Americans, and are a

gift from past Americans to current

and future generations.

In Nebraska, Homestead National

Monument west of Beatrice, the

Niobrara National Scenic River

east of Valentine, Scotts Bluff Na-

tional Monument and Agate Fossil

Beds National Monument near

Harrison reflect the diversity of

resources protected by the National

Park Service in Nebraska.

Less than 2 percent of Nebraska is

public land managed in part for

wildlife — ranking Nebraska near

the bottom of all states — so every

acre of public land is precious.

Unfortunately, some in Congress

want to give away our public

lands, to turn them into private

forests, mines and strip malls.

In Oregon, privatization advocates

turned to violence, taking over a

Our Public Lands Legacy By J.J. Johnson, President

national wildlife refuge and laying

waste to buildings and natural re-

sources to gain attention.

Here in Nebraska, the Niobrara

Council voted against the National

Park Service acquiring just 25

acres at Rocky Ford along the Nio-

brara River. The Park Service

doesn’t own a single acre of land

along the 76-mile stretch of the

Niobrara it is sworn to manage.

Rocky Ford’s owner wanted to sell

his land to the Park Service,

providing a public landing to get

on and off the River. It would also

provide a wonderful site for the

Park Service to teach people about

the Niobrara and the many remark-

able natural resources that make

the Niobrara Valley so special.

Sadly, opposition from the Nio-

brara Council, and from Senators

Deb Fischer and Ben Sasse and

Rep. Adrian Smith, convinced the

National Park

Service to

pull the funding slated for the pur-

chase.

Nebraska Wildlife Federation is

working to keep alive the possibil-

ity of a National Park Service pres-

ence at Rocky Ford. We are also

fighting to ensure that river flows

in the Niobrara are protected for

fish, wildlife and recreation for

current and future generations.

Together with National Wildlife

Federation and other NWF state

affiliates, we helped produce a vid-

eo on the value and benefits of our

public lands legacy. Thanks to Ne-

braska Wildlife Federation mem-

bers who helped fund the video,

we will be using it to educate Ne-

braskans about the importance of

our legacy of public lands and the

fish, wildlife and recreation that

depend upon its protection.

Help Us Honor Nebraska Conservation Heroes

2016 Wildlife Awards Banquet Thursday, October 13

Parker’s Smokehouse, Ashland, Nebraska 5:00 pm Social Time

6:30 pm Dinner & Program

Help Us Honor: Glenn Johnson, Lower Platte South NRD

State Senator Heath Mello Kat & Dustin Scholl, K&D Bees

Roger Belohlavy, Crete Volunteer Audubon of Kansas Hutton Ranch

Advance tickets required, make your reservations by

October 5. $45 each, two for $80, $295 for a table of 8 Mail your reservations to Banquet, Box 81437, Lincoln, NE 68501. (402) 477-1008 or [email protected] for

more information.

Summer, 2016

For the past several months, the

Platte River Recovery Program

Governance Committee has been

discussing a possible long-term

extension of the Program’s First

Increment.

The current Program was con-

ceived as a 13-year First Increment

of a long-term effort to help recov-

er the Whooping crane, piping

plover, Interior least tern and pallid

sturgeon.

Now in its tenth year, the Program

has met its goal for protecting

10,000 acres of land, but is well

short of the goal of harnessing

130,000 to 150,000 acre feet of

water per year to begin to restore

flows needed

for wildlife.

Colorado and

Wyoming have

met their obli-

gations to off-

set new water

uses that would

deplete river

flows, but Ne-

braska is be-

hind in its obligation, as it hoped to

rely in part on a Program water

project that was recently put on

hold.

Under the original agreement, the

Governance Committee should be

negotiating a Second Increment of

the Program, one that presumably

would go further to provide bene-

fits for the four species. Instead,

the Committee is discussing an

extension that could be as long as

13 years, to provide extra time to

accomplish the original objectives.

Platte Recovery Program at Critical Stage

In recent discussions, the federal

Bureau of Reclamation, state of

Wyoming, and Colorado water

users — who put up the cash for

the First Increment of the Program

— have raised questions about the

cost of accomplishing the 130,000

to 150,000 acre feet milestone that

has been in place from the start.

At the same time, representatives

of the large water projects that gain

valuable regulatory coverage for

their impacts on rare species are

asking for another 13 years of cov-

erage, at a cost well below the

price tag for the First Increment.

“The decisions about the Platte

River Program will impact Platte

River flows for generations to

come,” says

Duane Hovorka,

Federation Execu-

tive Director.

“They will have

an impact on the

four rare species

we are trying to

restore, but also

the Sandhill

cranes, migrating

ducks and geese, fish, river otters

and other wildlife that also depend

on the Platte River.”

Dr. Russ Souchek, Federation Poli-

cy Chair and Doane University

Environmental Science Professor,

is helping the Federation under-

stand the biological implications of

the decisions.

Through a special arrangement

with Doane University, Dr.

Souchek is also providing research

on climate change and its likely

impacts on Platte River flows and

on Whooping cranes, piping plov-

ers, Interior lest terns, and pallid

sturgeon.

More than fish and wildlife will be

at risk if Platte River flows contin-

ue to shrink. People in Lincoln,

Omaha and many other communi-

ties depend on the Platte River for

drinking water.

The Platte River

Recovery Program

The Platte River Recovery Pro-

gram is a three-state, basin-wide

program designed to protect and

conserve habitat and begin to re-

store river flows that are critical for

four rare species that depend on the

Platte: Whooping cranes, piping

plovers, Interior least terns and pal-

lid sturgeon.

The key components include:

٠ 10,000 acres of habitat conserved

and protected in the Central Platte;

٠ 130,000 to 150,000 acre feet of

water per year, acquired or re-timed

for flows that benefit the species;

٠ State commitments to protect

Platte flows from post-1997 uses

that deplete critical wildlife flows;

٠ A strong science program.

Nebraska Wildlife Federation and


helped negotiate and ratify the Pro-

gram, and Federation Executive

Director Duane Hovorka serves on

its Governance Committee.

Prairie Blade

Looking for a chance to get those

kids out of doors and learn some

fun outdoor skills?

Join us at Pioneers Park Nature

Center in Lincoln for our Wild Fall

Festival. Scheduled for Friday,

October 7, Wild Fall Festival will

provide an evening of fun outdoor

activities for children and their

families.

Last April, hundreds of kids and

their families petted turtles, learned

about bees, saw a root-side view of

the world, and got their hands dirty

at Wild Adventure Day at Pioneers

Park in Lincoln.

Participants learned about fairy

gardens, saw the critters living in

their creek, and helped plant a

monarch and pollinator garden

Wild Fall Festival Oct. 7

(below). We hope to have another

two dozen free activities this year,

along with a camp fire and a hay-

rack ride for just $3.

Wild Fall Festival is a partnership

between Friends of Pioneers Park

Nature Center, Nebraska Wildlife

Federation, and Pioneers Park Na-

ture Center, with the cooperation

of many local agencies and organi-

zations.


executive director Duane Hovorka

was in Washington DC in April to

ask Nebraska’s members of Con-

gress to increase funding for state

and tribal efforts to conserve fish

and wildlife.

The visit was bolstered by the re-

lease of the recommendations of

the Blue Ribbon Panel on Sustain-

ing America’s Diverse Fish and

Wildlife Resources.

The bi-partisan panel of industry

and conservation leaders included

National Wildlife Federation CEO

Collin O’Mara. The panel recom-

mended that at least $1.3 billion a

Panel Highlights Wildlife Funding Needs

year be dedicated from

federal oil, gas and min-

ing royalties to support

state-level fish and wild-

life conservation.

When HR 5650 was intro-

duced in Congress in July

to implement the recom-

mendations, Nebraska

Congressman Jeff Forten-

berry was one of the first

to co-sponsor it. Rep.

Fortenberry has been a

long-time supporter of funding for

the state and tribal wildlife grant

program.

The new funds would be focused

on the many species that are in

decline but are not yet on the en-

dangered species list.

“Grassland birds, monarch butter-

flies, river otters, native bees and

the plains topminnow are some of

the many species that are in need

of conservation and could benefit

from this funding,” said Hovorka.

Today, fees from hunting and fish-

ing equipment and licenses pay for

most state-level fish and wildlife

conservation work. That funding

helps provide habitat and manage-

ment of huntable wildlife and

game fish.

A small amount of federal funding

is available to conserve endan-

gered and threatened wildlife, but

very little funding is available for

all the species in between.

Hovorka said the Federation is

working to get other members of

Nebraska’s Congressional delega-

tion to support the bill as well.


helped pay for Hovorka’s trip to

Washington, and NWF is at the

forefronts of national efforts to

enact the legislation.

River otters are among the many species that could ben-efit from a new source of funding for wildlife.

Keenan Adams, US FWS

As Nebraska electric utilities craft

budgets and plans for next year,

Federation representatives are ask-

ing them to increase their budget

and focus on clean energy solu-

tions like solar, wind, and energy

efficiency.

In September, Lincoln Electric

System dedicated its new solar

farm just west of Lincoln — the

first utility-scale solar farm in Ne-

braska, and one of the largest in

the region.

In July, Omaha Public Power Dis-

trict (OPPD) approved plans to

close its Fort Calhoun Nuclear Sta-

tion by the end of this year. In a

special analysis, the Federation

noted that unless OPPD invests in

additional wind, solar, and energy

efficiency to offset the closure of

Fort Calhoun, the net result would

be an increase in air pollution

“Your Land” Tells Public Lands Story

Time for Renewed Focus on Clean Energy

Spring, 2015

linked to climate

change, heart dis-

ease, asthma and

other diseases as

other power plants

in the region burn

more coal and gas

to make up the dif-

ference.

Nebraska Public

Power District is moving ahead to

re-power one of its smaller power

plants at Hallam to replace coal

with hydrogen, a cleaner burning

fuel. However, the utility has re-

fused to increase its commitment

to wind or energy efficiency, and

appears to have backed off of ef-

forts to develop a compressed air

energy storage facility that could

have stored wind energy for use

when needed.

This summer, Federation energy

consultant Cristina

Colling testified at

an Environmental

Protection Agency

hearing in Denver,

asking for stronger

regional haze rules

to reduce air pollu-

tion from some of

Nebraska’s larger

power plants. A Federation letter

also called on the State of Nebras-

ka to do more to reduce pollution

at large coal-fired power plants.

“Utilities like Lincoln Electric Sys-

tem and Omaha Public Power Dis-

trict have taken some big steps to-

wards clean energy,” said Federa-

tion executive director Duane

Hovorka, “but we have a long

ways to go.”

The Federation is working with

others to develop a clean energy

plan for Nebraska that would move

it away from dirty fossil fuels and

towards clean energy solutions.

“Affordable clean energy solutions

are already available,” said Col-

ling. “Now we need Nebraska util-

ity leaders and the legislature to

step up and make a clean energy

future a reality.”

Support for the Federation’s clean

energy work includes:


joined with National Wildlife Fed-

eration and NWF affiliates around

the country to support production

of a new video that celebrates

America’s public land legacy.

Your Land shows some of the

wondrous public lands across

America, and describes the threats

to those lands from those who

want to sell them off or destroy

them.

Only a tiny share of Nebraska’s

land base is public land, but it pro-

vides vitally important habitat for

many species of fish and wildlife.

Despite its tremendous value, some

want to sell off America’s public

lands. Here in Nebraska, efforts to

protect some of our most iconic

locations for future generations

have been opposed by political

leaders and others.

Thanks to the Nebraska Wildlife

Federation donors who came

through with over $500 in just a

few days to support the production

of the short video. We plan to

premier the video in the coming

weeks to stimulate discussion on

the value of public land in Nebras-

ka.

Contact our office if you’d like to

arrange for a showing in your com-

munity.

J.A.

Woollam

Foundation

Lincoln

Prairie Blade

Planting a Monarch & Pollinator Garden Monarch butterflies have seen

their numbers crash by some 90%

over the past two decades, victims

of pesticides, new crop production

practices, roadside mowing, loss of

native prairie and other pressures.

Our honey bees, native bees and

other pollinators are also in trouble,

victims of many of the same pres-

sures.

Fortunately, each of us can be part

of the solution.

Nebraska Wildlife Federation, with

support from the Nebraska Environ-

mental Trust, has been holding

backyard habitat workshops and

schoolyard habitat workshops

around Nebraska. The free work-

shops focus on creating high quality

monarch and pollinator habitat right

in your backyard or school yard.

Contact Carolyn in our office for

details.

We also have a Monarch & Pollina-

tor Garden Kit for sale, that includes

our Guide to Monarch & Pollinator

Plantings, a list of native flowers

and other plants that attract butter-

flies and other pollinators, and

packets of milkweed and wildflow-

er seeds.

Monarch butterflies need milk-

weeds to reproduce. The adults lay

their eggs only on milkweeds, and

the monarch caterpillars that

emerge only eat milkweed leaves.

You can help monarch butterflies

by planting milkweed in your yard,

or in containers on your patio. Ne-

braska boasts 17 native milkweed

species, and swamp, common, and

butterfly are three of the native

milkweed seeds and plants you can

find in catalogs and nurseries.

Native wildflowers provide nectar

that feeds monarch butterflies and

other pollinators, and native trees

and shrubs provide nectar very ear-

ly in the year. Try to have several

species blooming at any one time

from March through October.

You can create a high quality mon-

arch and pollinator garden by plant-

ing a garden bed in a sunny spot

with at least 120 square feet of

space (10’ x 12’), with:

o Groups of three kinds of milk-

weed;

o Native wildflowers that bloom

throughout the growing season, and

trees or shrubs for early nectar;

o Bare ground and dead branches or

trees to provide homes for native

bees;

o Water in a bird bath or bowl, and

a mud area for butterflies; and

o A sign to identify your garden and

educate others.

Thank You Members of the Federation’s Business

Council for Your Advice and Support

Whole Foods Market Lincoln

Siedhoff Construction Fran Siedhoff, Crete

Oglesby Law Gene Oglesby, Lincoln

Jensen-Rogert Associates Ron Jensen, Lincoln

Verdis Group Omaha

Joy Creations Don Preister, Omaha

Don Pepperl, Attorney Don Pepperl, Lincoln

National Wildlife Federation David Ellenberger, Denver

Wild Bird Habitat Store Dave Titterington, Lincoln

Hair Market Junction Cindy Hovorka, Lincoln

Hughes Brothers Hastings

Cook’s Ham/Farmland Lincoln

Monarch feeds on a New England Aster.

US

FW

S

Non-Profit Org US Postage

PAID Lincoln, NE

Permit. No. 853 Nebraska Wildlife Federation PO Box 81437 Lincoln, NE 68501

Address Service Requested

Federation Helps Beautify Scottsbluff

gave a free workshop on monarch

and pollinator gardens, and partici-

pants planted a monarch and polli-

nator garden at the Guadalupe

Center.

Federation organizer Cristina Col-

ling helped organize the event, and

is working to spread the word

about the benefits of clean energy

in western Nebraska.


joined the Neighborhood Commit-

tee, Guadalupe Center, Lakota Lu-

theran Center, Keep Scottsbluff

Gering Beautiful, Scottsbluff and

Gering city governments and local

businesses in a cleanup and beauti-

fication day in Scottsbluff July 16.

Dozens of volunteers roamed

Scottsbluff and staffed a drop-off

location, collecting six large rolloff

dumpsters of trash. The Federation

gave away free LED lightbulbs to

educate people about clean energy.

In the afternoon, the Federation

Volunteers collected 20 tons of trash

Sabrina Esparza, cleanup day founder, and the Federation’s Cristina Colling celebrate a successful event

Dozens of volunteers collected trash in Scottsbluff neighborhoods and unloaded vehicles at the drop-off site

Inside

Public Lands Legacy …….3, 6

Critical Time for Platte ……..4

Wildlife Funding Needs …….5

Wild Fall Festival ………….5

Clean Energy Focus ………...6

Plant a Monarch Garden…….7

the prairie blade summer, 2016 - nebraska wildlife federation · 2016-10-06 · the program, one...

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