The Nemaha NRD provides trees and shrubs for conservation purposes, including windbreaks, shelterbelts, wildlife habitat, firewood, and Christmas trees.
Orders are accepted starting November 1st each year.
A planting service is available for orders of 200 trees or more — contact the NRD to schedule a planting plan.

Cost-share assistance may be available for qualified plantings of 200+ trees, please contact our office for details. 

Eligibility: You must reside in or own property within the Nemaha NRD boundaries to place an order.

2026 Deadlines (Now Closed)
NRD Machine Planted Seedlings: December 31, 2025
*Your ground must be fall-prepared if it is currently in sod.
Contact the NRD office to prepare a planting plan and place your order.

Landowner Self-Planted Seedlings: March 13, 2026
Order early to ensure your preferred species are available.

Ordering Information
Seedlings are sold in bundles of 25 per species.
NRD Machine Planting: Minimum order of 200 trees required. Contact the office prior to December 31 to prepare a plan and place your order.
Payment: All charges are due in advance.
Availability: Quantities may be limited; trees are not guaranteed. Trees are not reserved until payment is received.

How to Order

Orders for the 2027 program open November 1, 2026. Please check back at that time for ordering information.

The 2026 Conservation Tree Program has closed. Thank you for your interest, and please check back in the fall for next season’s information!

This program is a partnership between the Nemaha NRD and the Nebraska Game & Parks Commission to create or improve habitat on private land. Cost-share based activities are categorized as grasslands, woodlands, wetlands, or general. Approved activities vary but could include prescribed burning, disking, or interseeding legumes, for example. Both state and local funds are used to support the program. Contact the NRD office for more details.

Created in 1998 by the Nebraska Legislature, this program encourages landowners to establish grass or riparian buffers along vulnerable surface water resources. Funding comes from a fee assessed on pesticides registered for sale in Nebraska. Eligible Areas – Any cropland (in annual crops or legumes as part of a rotation) adjacent to perennial or seasonal streams, wetlands, permanent water bodies. (Photo credit NE Department of Agriculture)

Payments

Dryland cropland payment rate for land also enrolled in CRP or other government funded programs is 20% of the weighted average soil rental rate per acre. Land not enrolled in another program receives 120% of the rental rate plus $5 per acre, less payments from other sources. In either case the maximum total payment from all sources is limited to $250/acre.

Irrigated cropland enrolled in CRP or other government funded programs shall receive $250/acre minus payments from other sources.
Irrigated land not enrolled in CRP shall receive $225/acre minus payment from other programs.

Payments are made annually on September 30 by the NRD.

General Terms

• Contract length: Five years minimum; 10 years maximum
• Haying & Grazing: Limited (based on NRCS practice requirements)
• Size: Minimum width-20 feet for grass filters and 55 feet for riparian forest buffers; maximum width-120 feet for grass filters and 180 feet for riparian buffers; minimum size per application is 1 acre
• Sign up: Anytime, in person, at your local Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) office

Nebraska producers of corn, sugar beet, potato, and wheat are eligible to apply for the NiRIA program, which provides incentive payments for reducing nitrogen fertilizer use by the lesser of 40 pounds per acre or 15% of their baseline rate.

Incentive Payments Based on Priority Areas:

• Priority A: $15/acre – acres in wellhead protection or Phase II areas
• Priority B: $12/acre – other irrigated acres
• Priority C: $10/acre – all other acres

2026 Growing Season Enrollment Period: Deadline ended December 15, 2025
Producers have one year from the application deadline to show and verify their nitrogen reductions.

How to Apply
Contact your local NRD or use the online application by clicking here.
Mail to: Nemaha NRD, 62161 Hwy 136, Tecumseh, NE 68450
Email to: nnrd@nemahanrd.org

Priority Area Information

• Priority A: Areas with high nitrate levels, including wellhead protection and Phase II areas. Baseline nitrogen rates are set by the NRD.
• Priority B: Other irrigated acres. Baselines set by NRD through past data or soil tests.
• Priority C: All other acres. Baselines set the same way as Priority B.

Program Funding: Limited to $1 million statewide for 2026.
Application Cap: 160 acres per application.

For more information on the program, visit the Nebraska Department of Water, Energy, and Environment's (DWEE) website by following this link.

Contact our office if you have additional questions by phone at (402)335-3325 or email at nnrd@nemahanrd.org.