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The Prairie Blade Newsletter of the Nebraska Wildlife Federation
Board of Directors
Jim Johnson, Lincoln
President, NWF Alternate
Steve Kryger, Papillion
Vice President Administration
Marge Kennedy, Malcolm
Vice President Programs, Secretary
Gene Oglesby, Lincoln
NWF Delegate, Leadership Chair
Dr. Russ Souchek, Seward
Immediate Past President,
Public Policy Chair
Bruce Kennedy, Malcolm
Conservation & Education Chair
Christine Kuhn, Lincoln
Organizational Development Chair
Buffalo Bruce, Chadron
Mike Coe, Crete
Patrick Hartman, Lincoln
Dr. Marian Maas, Omaha
Fran Siedhoff, Crete
Jarel Vinduska, Gretna
Staff
Duane Hovorka
Executive Director
Carolyn Butler
Conservation Outreach Director
Cristina Colling
Energy Consultant
National Wildlife Federation
Brian Bashore, Sioux Falls, SD
NWF Board Region 9 Representative
David Ellenberger, Denver
NWF Regional Outreach Coordinator
***
Nebraska Wildlife Federation
PO Box 81437
Lincoln, NE 68501
(402) 477-1008
www.NebraskaWildlife.org
Nebraska Loses Conservation Leaders
Ione Werthman passed away at
age 89 in February in Omaha.
Werthman was a long-time volunteer
with the Audubon Society and other
organizations. She fought a proposal
to destroy a wetland in west Omaha,
helping to found Heron Haven to
protect the wetland as a refuge for
waterfowl and other wildlife. She
worked to establish a nature center at
the site, and lead Heron Haven Na-
ture Center for decades.
Ione fought tirelessly against pro-
posed dams on the Platte and Nio-
brara Rivers, working to designate a
portion of the Niobrara as a National
Scenic River. She was involved early
in efforts to craft a basin-wide ap-
proach to Platte River conservation
that became today’s Platte River Re-
covery Program.
In 2014, Nebraska Wildlife Federa-
tion honored Ione with a Lifetime
Achievement Award, and we will
miss her dearly.
Prairie Blade Spring, 2016
The Prairie Blade is the official newsletter of the Nebras-
ka Wildlife Federation, an independent state affiliate of the
National Wildlife Federation. Copyright 2016, Nebraska Wild-
life Federation. Contact the Federation office for reprint rights.
On the Cover: A Greater Prairie Chicken on the grasslands of
Valentine National Wildlife Refuge; photo by Dave Menke,
US Fish & Wildlife Service.
Walt Bagley passed away in Febru-
ary at age 99 in Lincoln. Bagley was a
retired forestry professor who helped
found Wachiska Audubon and provid-
ed Raptor Recovery Nebraska with its
first home.
He helped pass Nebraska’s conserva-
tion easement law, then in 1982 ob-
tained the first easement under the
new law. The easement protects 145
acres of land east of Lincoln that he
and his wife Virginia had planted with
trees, shrubs and grassland plants.
In 1992 the Bagleys donated their land
to the University of Nebraska. The site
is now Prairie Pines Arboretum, and
will be a lasting tribute to Walt and
Virginia’s stewardship.
Lynn Berggren of Broken Bow
passed away in February at age 65.
Berggren was appointed to the
Game & Parks Commission in 2007
and served until his death. Berggren
loved wildlife and the outdoors, and
worked to improve fishing access.
He had a passion for pheasants and
helped guide creation of a new
pheasant plan at Game & Parks.
Berggren will be succeeded on the
Commission by his son, Pat Berg-
gren, also of Broken Bow.
Page 3 Prairie Blade Spring, 2016
The Nebraska Wildlife Federa-
tion 46th Anniversary Annual
Gathering is set for Thursday,
May 26, at 6:00 pm at the Chalco
Hills Natural Resource Center,
154th and Giles Road in Omaha.
Join us for an entertaining and edu-
cational evening as we help the
National Park Service celebrate its
100th birthday. Get an update on
Nebraska Wildlife Federation work
to conserve Nebraska’s wildlife
and wild places, and help elect our
officers and board members.
Tickets are just $20, and include
dinner, free parking, and a fun
evening. We hope to see you there!
If you would like to volunteer to
serve on a Federation committee,
or to serve on our board of direc-
tors, contact me — we are always
looking for people who want to get
involved.
Your Nebraska Wildlife Feder-
ation has been hard at work on
many fronts recently.
The Legislature is about to finish
up a whirlwind 60-day session, and
we have been involved in many
Message From the President
water, wildlife, energy and other
issues (see page 7).
We worked to bring together a
Monarch and Pollinator Stakehold-
er Meeting, and are part of a core
team helping to develop a state
conservation plan for monarchs
and other pollinators (see page 5).
Wild Adventure Day at Pioneers
Park in Lincoln is set for April 30,
so please join us for a fun, free,
family-friendly event full of hands-
on outdoor activities. (see page 4).
Our work to protect the Platte, Ni-
obrara, and other Nebraska rivers
never ends, and we are pleased that
an agreement to protect Niobrara
flows is moving forward in and out
of the Legislature (see page 6).
The National Wildlife Federa-
tion 80th Annual Meeting is set
for June 16-18 in Estes Park, Colo-
rado. It is a great place to learn
about NWF’s work to
conserve wildlife, see
what other NWF state
affiliates are doing, and
socialize with people
who are as passionate as
Nebraska Wildlife Federation
Annual Gathering
Thursday, May 26, 6:00-9:00 pm Chalco Hills Visitors Center
8901 South 154th Street, Omaha
Celebrate the National Park Service 100th Anniversary with a special
presentation, get updates on Federation priorities, and vote to elect
Federation officers and directors.
Tickets are $20 per person. For reservations, contact the Federation office at (402) 477-1008, send a check to NEWF, Box 81437, Lincoln, NE 68501
or email us at Info@NebraskaWildlife.org
To Lincoln Day May 26, 2016
Donate to Nebraska Wildlife Federation on May 26 and
the Federation will receive a share of matching funds. LINCOLN COMMUNITY
F O U N D A T I O N
give
James “JJ” Johnson
Federation President
you are about wildlife and wild
places.
Estes Park is the front door to
Rocky Mountain National Park,
and the facility at YMCA of the
Rockies is wonderful. If you are
interested in car-pooling with Ne-
braska Wildlife Federation board
members who plan to attend, con-
tact our office at (402) 477-1008.
See more information and register
for the NWF annual meeting at:
www.NWF.org/who-we-are.aspx
and click on ‘annual meeting’.
Shop at Whole Foods in Lincoln on Tuesday, May
10, and a share of the day’s proceeds will be
donated to the Nebraska Wildlife Federation!
Page 4 Prairie Blade Spring, 2015
Wildlife Week Nebraska celebrates
the Monarch butterfly, one of nature’s
most amazing phenomena.
Teachers across Nebraska asked their
4th, 5th and 6th grade students to
draw posters based on the Magnifi-
cent Monarchs! theme, and then sub-
mitted entries to Nebraska Wildlife
Federation’s 2016 Wildlife Week
poster contest.
The best of the lot will be recognized
at Wild Adventure Day on Saturday,
April 30, at Pioneers Park Nature
Center in Lincoln.
Wild Adventure Day is an event with
free, fun, family-friendly outdoor ac-
tivities provided by area agencies and
organizations. The hands-on activities
Wildlife Week: “Magnificent Monarchs!”
next two weeks, then emerges
as a beautiful butterfly that
continues the journey north.
Several generations of Mon-
arch butterflies are needed to
make their way north. The but-
terflies sip from nectar-rich
plants, then find a milkweed
plant for their eggs.
In late summer, a generation of
monarchs is born that heads
south, making the journey back
to Mexico in a single genera-
tion.
Monarch Challenges
Monarchs have seen their num-
bers drop by some 90% over
the past two decades.
Increasingly effective pesti-
cides and herbicides, loss of
over-wintering habitat in Mex-
ico, loss of native prairie and
other grasslands in the USA,
and other factors have been
linked to the decline.
Nebraska Wildlife Federation
is working with other Ne-
braska agencies and or-
ganizations to reverse the
decline in Monarchs and
other pollinators through
habitat conservation, edu-
cation and policy.
are designed to show families the
fun they can have in the outdoors.
Magnificent Monarchs!
Monarch butterflies lay their eggs
on the underside of milkweed
leaves. The eggs hatch into color-
ful, striped caterpillars that eat
milkweed leaves — and only
milkweed leaves.
Milkweeds contain cardenolides,
a toxic chemical that when eaten
by the caterpillars makes them toxic to
birds and other predators.
Most of North America’s monarchs —
including those that migrate through
Nebraska — spend the winter high in
the Sierra Madre mountains of Central
Mexico.
In the spring, a
new generation
of butterflies
heads for Texas,
the first stop on
their long migra-
tion. They find
milkweeds, lay
their eggs, and a
new generation is
hatched.
The caterpillars
eat and grow,
then attach them-
selves in a pro-
tected spot and
change into a
chrysalis. The
caterpillar trans-
forms over the
Wild Adventure Day! Saturday, April 30, 10 am to 1 pm
Pioneers Park Nature Center, Lincoln Join us for free, family-friendly hands-on activities
and learn the fun to be had in the great outdoors!
US FWS
Page 5 Prairie Blade Spring, 2016
Nearly 80 representatives of gov-
ernment agencies, non-profit or-
ganizations, colleges, schools and
others gathered in Lincoln Febru-
ary 23-24 to discuss solutions to
address the declining numbers of
monarch and regal fritillary butter-
flies, bees, and other pollinators.
The stakeholder meeting was the
result of months of planning and
coordination. Last summer, Ne-
braska Wildlife Federation met
with conservation agencies and
organizations, academic experts
and others in a series of discus-
sions about ways to reverse the
rapid decline in monarch butterfly
populations, and similar declines in
native bees and other pollinators.
The meetings fostered new part-
nerships and highlighted the need
for a statewide conservation plan
for monarchs and other pollinators.
The stakeholders meeting was or-
ganized as an important step to-
wards that plan.
Monarch expert Chip Taylor from
Kansas University, founder of
Monarch Watch, provided a key-
note speech outlining the plight of
the Monarch and the reasons for its
decline. Other speakers provided
additional insight, and group dis-
cussions focused on conservation
needs on public and private land,
research and monitoring, and edu-
cation and outreach.
Other kinds of pollinators are also
in decline in Nebraska, including
the Regal fritillary and Iowa skip-
per butterflies, American bumble
bee and yellow bumble bee.
One out of three bites of food con-
sumed in the USA comes from
Monarch & Pollinator Stakeholder Meeting Outlines Need for State Plan
Federation to Host Monarch & Pollinator Workshops
plants that need pollinators, so
the loss of these species is an
issue that should concern every-
one.
In March, a core group of part-
ners met to begin to craft a state
monarch and pollinator conser-
vation plan from the results of
the stakeholder meeting.
Implementing the plan could
help restore vital habitat for
Monarchs and other butterflies,
honey bees, native bees and oth-
er pollinators.
Financial support for the stake-
holders meeting was provided by
Game & Parks, Pheasants Forever,
the US Fish & Wildlife Service,
and Friends of the Niobrara. Game
& Parks, Nebraska Wildlife Feder-
ation and other organizations pro-
vided staff support to organize the
meeting. Contact the Federation of-
fice if you would like to get in-
volved in the Federation’s efforts to
conserve pollinators.
With funding from the Nebraska
Environmental Trust Fund, Ne-
braska Wildlife Federation will be
hosting habitat workshops in the
coming months to show people
how to establish and maintain high
quality monarch and pollinator
habitat in their backyards,
schoolyards, churchyards, busi-
nesses and other sites.
The Federation is planning at least
15 backyard habitat workshops and
5 regional schoolyard habitat
workshops, primarily in eastern
Nebraska. Eastern Nebraska has
been identified as an important part
of the core habitat area for mon-
arch butterflies, although monarchs
and other pollinators occur
throughout the state.
The free workshops will provide a
recipe for creating and maintaining
high quality habitat, including sev-
eral species of milkweed (the host
plant for monarch larva), a variety
of nectar-rich flowers that bloom
throughout the growing season,
and sustainable gardening practices
that avoid pesticides and herbi-
cides harmful to butterflies, bees
and other pollinators.
Contact the Federation office for
information on the workshops, or
visit www.NebraskaWildlife.org.
Ryan Hagerty, US FWS
Nebraska continues to lose native prairie and
milkweeds at an alarming rate.
The Nebraska Department of En-
vironmental Quality has squandered
an opportunity to hear what Nebras-
kans think about clean energy, cli-
mate change and air pollution.
The Department had scheduled 18
meetings in 9 communities around
Nebraska to take public input on
new Clean Power Plan rules de-
signed to reduce carbon pollution
from electric power-plants.
Then, just days before they were
scheduled to begin, the Department
abruptly cancelled the meetings,
hours after the US Supreme Court
put a temporary hold on the Envi-
ronmental Protection Agency rules
the state rules would implement.
Most other states are moving ahead
with rules to reduce carbon pollu-
tion from electric utilities, recogniz-
ing they are needed to avoid the
worst impacts of climate change.
Despite our state’s lack of action,
State Drops Ball on Clean Power Rules
Niobrara River Agreement Moves Forward
Page 6 Prairie Blade Spring, 2016
Nebraska Wildlife Federation and a
network of conservation, farm,
faith, and civic groups are moving
ahead to broaden the discussion of
clean energy solutions.
Together we plan to organize com-
munity conversations around Ne-
braska to educate Nebraskans about
affordable clean energy solutions,
and to seek their input on Ne-
braska’s energy future.
Fortunately, clean energy solutions
like wind, solar and energy efficien-
cy are more affordable today than
ever. The cost of coal has climbed
rapidly, and research has document-
ed more and more damage done by
pollution from fossil fuels to wild-
life, our health, and the planet.
Subscribe to our clean energy email
update to get information on the
events as they are scheduled, or
check out our web site at
www.NebraskaWildlife.org or
www.CleanEnergyNebraska.org.
A new building at the Boy Scout camp
near Humboldt has solar PV panels and
will soon have solar hot water, demon-
strating clean energy solutions.
Last September the Nebraska
Game & Parks Commission, Ne-
braska Public Power District
(NPPD), and five natural resource
districts in the Niobrara River wa-
tershed reached an historic agree-
ment on a plan that could protect
river flows for fish, wildlife and
recreation for future generations.
Under the agreement, NPPD will
sell Spencer Dam, a small hydroe-
lectric dam with an old water right
on the lower Niobrara, to a consorti-
um made up of the five NRDs and
Game & Parks.
Game & Parks and the NRDs will
jointly manage the water right to
protect flows in the Niobrara need-
ed for fish, wildlife and recreation.
They may also use the water right
to meet the basin’s other Integrated
Management Plan needs.
To accomplish that management,
current state law needs to be
changed to allow a hydroelectric
water right to be converted to a wa-
ter right that can be used for multi-
ple purposes. Legislation to accom-
plish that, LB 1038, is now moving
through the Legislature.
The water right at Spencer Dam, if
managed correctly, should protect a
portion of the water that benefits
fish, wildlife and recreation far up-
stream from the dam.
To protect flows for fish, wildlife
and recreation below Spencer Dam,
an instream flow water right request
was filed with the Department of
Natural Resources. In March, the
Federation provided comments to
the Department in support of the
application.
To complete the deal, Game & Parks
and the five NRDs must still com-
plete an operating agreement that
will spell out details of how the wa-
ter right will be managed, and $9
million must be secured to purchase
the dam — on top of passage of the
legislation and approval of the in-
stream flow water right. The Federa-
tion is working to support each of
those elements.
There is much left to do, but for
now, thanks to an innovative ap-
proach, the future of the Niobrara
River looks brighter than ever!
D.Hovorka
Page 7 Prairie Blade Spring, 2016
Legislature Tackles River, Funding Issues
Blue Ribbon Panel Calls for Wildlife Funding
The Legislature’s 60-day session
adjourned April 20.
Niobrara River: Senator Al Da-
vis introduced LB 1038 to allow a
hydroelectric water right to be
transferred and used to protect riv-
er flows needed for fish, wildlife
and recreation. The Federation
supported the bill, which was ap-
proved 48-0 on April 12. The bill
will allow for the transfer of Spen-
cer Dam on the Niobrara, and its
water right, to the Game & Parks
Commission and five Niobrara
natural resource districts to help
protect river flows.
The Legislature added a provision
to the bill which makes the Gover-
nor’s appointments to the Niobrara
Council subject to confirmation by
the Legislature.
Conservation Funding: Senator
John McCollister introduced LB
745 to allow the Game & Parks
Commission to raise hunting, fish-
ing, and state park fees. The Feder-
ation supported the bill to provide
needed funding for parks and wild-
life programs. The bill was ap-
proved April 12 on a 45-3 vote.
Energy Efficiency: The Legisla-
ture approved LB 1012 on April 7
on a 45-0 vote. The bill was intro-
duced by Senator Heath Mello to
give cities an option to provide
financing for residential and busi-
ness energy efficiency and renewa-
ble energy investments, which
would be repaid through annual
property assessments. The Federa-
tion supported the bill, although an
amendment reduced the focus on
energy efficiency.
Renewable Energy: The Legis-
lature passed LB 824, introduced
by Sen. John McCollister, to
streamline the permitting for wind
farms. The Federation worked with
the bill’s sponsors and committee
members to ensure that the bill will
not eliminate the current Game &
Parks review of wind farm siting to
address bat, bird, and other wildlife
issues.
The Revenue Committee refused
to advance a bill by Sen. Al Davis
that would have provided a pro-
duction tax credit for wind or solar
energy produced in a low-
population county.
Mountain Lions: The Natural
Resources Committee killed a bill
by Sen. Ernie Chambers (LB 127)
that would have taken away the
Game & Parks Commission au-
thority to hold a hunting season on
mountain lions. The Federation
believes the Game & Parks Com-
mission should retain authority
over hunting of mountain lions and
other wildlife, but believes the cur-
rent population of mountain lions
in Nebraska is too low to justify a
hunting season. The Game & Parks
Commission did not hold a hunting
season on mountain lions in either
2015 or 2016.
Sign up for our Wildlife Action
Network email list for up to date
information on state legislation.
In March, Nebraska Wildlife Fed-
eration executive director Duane
Hovorka was in Washington, DC,
meeting with members of Ne-
braska’s Congressional delegation
to discuss the critical need for fed-
eral funding for wildlife and wild
places.
Hovorka joined representatives
from other National Wildlife Feder-
ation state affiliates and many con-
servation partners in the annual
Teaming With Wildlife fly-in.
The group also marked the release
of recommendations from the Blue
Ribbon Panel on Sustaining Ameri-
ca’s Diverse Fish and Wildlife Re-
sources. The panel of conservation
and business leaders, co-chaired by
Bass Pro Shops founder John Mor-
ris and former Wyoming Governor
David Freudenthal, asked Congress
to dedicate $1.3 billion annually to
implement State Wildlife Action
Plans. NWF President Collin
O’Mara was a member of the panel.
State Wildlife Plans have identified
12,000 species in need of conserva-
tion efforts to maintain healthy pop-
ulations. Without adequate funding,
many more wildlife species will
end up needing protection of the
Endangered Species Act.
For more information on the Blue
Ribbon Panel, visit fishwildlife.org.
Membership level:
O $12 Student
O $30 Individual
O $45 Family
O $100 Sustaining
O $500 Patron
O $1,000 Platinum
O Other $__________
Name: _________________________________________
Address: _______________________________________
City: __________________ State _____ Zip __________
O Check enclosed, or O VISA O MasterCard
Card number: ____________________________________
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Signature ________________________________
Water a Key for Backyard Wildlife
Water is a key component of any
backyard wildlife area. Like people,
birds, mammals and other wildlife
need clean, fresh water to survive.
Your options for providing water
are limited only by your space and
your imagination, but here are some
ideas.
Bird Bath: Birds need water to
keep their feathers clean, and a bird
bath will provide some protection
from cats and other predators. Keep
the water fresh (and reduce mosqui-
to problems) by dumping and re-
filling it every day. Clean feathers
provide better insulation, so a heat-
ed bird bath will help birds survive
the winter.
Stream: The gurgling
sound of running wa-
ter should put a smile
on your face and will
please wildlife as well.
If you are lucky
enough to have a natu-
ral stream on your
property, treat it care-
fully.
Maintain buffers of
native vegetation on
the stream banks to
reduce erosion. Leave
some branches that
fall into your stream to provide hab-
itat for larvae of dragonflies and
damselflies. Rocks and gravel can
provide a mix of pools, runs and
riffles to provide diverse habitat.
Pond: A pond is a nice addition to
almost any backyard, providing
habitat for fish and frogs, but ponds
require management. A plastic liner
is usually required, and a pump will
provide oxygen in the water and
keep the pond from going stagnant.
Floating plants like duckweed, and
submerged pots of water lilies,
pondweed and arrowhead can pro-
vide oxygen for the wa-
ter and shade for fish. If
you stock non-native
fish like koi in your
pond, be sure the pond
won’t overflow into a
stream or lake in a
heavy rain.
Wetland: Homeowners
and businesses are in-
creasingly using water
gardens with native wet-
land plants to capture
and filter rainfall from
roofs and driveways.
Toads will benefit from these areas.
Mud Flat: Many butterflies obtain
water from mud rather than open
water. Clear vegetation from a
space near your pond or bird bath
and splash water on it to create a
natural mud flat, or fill a shallow
dish with sand and soil to create a
container mud flat.
Evening grosbeaks. Photo by
G.Gentry, USFWS
Ste
ve
Hil
leb
rand
, U
SF
WS
Join the Federation … or Give a Gift Membership
Mail to: Nebraska Wildlife Federation
Box 81437, Lincoln, NE 68501-1437
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