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| Nemaha NRD April
2007 Board Meeting Report Tecumseh – At the monthly meeting of the Nemaha Natural Resources District on Thursday, April 12, four NRD board members and four landowners were appointed to an advisory group for the Muddy Creek Watershed project. Landowners Dave Dunekacke, Randall Rippe, Duane Caspers, and Laverne Gerdes will join NRD directors Rob Bohling, Jim Rush, Mike Speece, and Tom White on the advisory group. Recently this project was approved for a grant through the Nebraska Environmental Trust, which will allow for installation of various grade stabilization measures within the upper reaches of the watershed around the Johnson area. The advisory group will establish priorities for ranking projects and make decisions on funding and cost-share issues. In related action, the board approved a contract with JEO Consulting for their planning assistance and design and construction engineering services for the Muddy Creek Watershed project. Two grade stabilization structures and two weirs are planned for this fall with one road dam scheduled for fiscal year 2009. Future, additional structures are planned but were not included in this contract. The Water Resources Ad Hoc Committee reviewed variance requests for permits to drill two wells. One was received from Eugene Wiese for an irrigation well northeast of Adams; the other was from Craig Behrends for an irrigation well southwest of Auburn. NRD Water Department staff determined both to be feasible and not in conflict with other nearby wells, and the board approved both requests. Norris High School’s Envirothon team will again be competing at the Nebraska Envirothon to be held at Fort Robinson State Park in May. They won their regional contest earlier this year, qualifying them for the state contest. Therefore, the board voted to provide the $100 for their state contest registration fee. The Nebraska Envirothon is a program where teams of five, 9-12 grade students compete in seven environmental areas: soil, aquatics, forestry, wildlife, range, and a current environmental issue. This year’s topic is alternative/renewable energy. The winner of the state contest will advance to national competition later this summer in New York. NRD Manager, Bob Hilske, updated the board on current legislative activity as well as a recent trip to Washington, DC. Along with the Assistant Manager, Scott Nelson, and NRD Director Scott Kudrna from Auburn, Hilske attended meetings with various federal and congressional representatives. One goal of the group was to encourage federal funding for the Buck/Duck Watershed project in the Peru area. The next regular meeting of the Nemaha Natural Resources District board of directors will be on Thursday, May 10, 2007, beginning at 8:00 p.m. at the NRD headquarters, 62161 Highway 136, Tecumseh. |