28 NEBRASKA CATTLEMAN March 2025 PRODUCTION Natural Resources Districts Programs Helping Producers TRESSA LAWRENCE | CONTRIBUTING WRITER Nebraska is divided into 23 Natural Resources Districts (NRDs), which are based on river basin boundaries. These NRDs strive to conserve, sustain and improve Nebraska’s natural resources and environment. In most states across the country, you will find conservation districts divided by counties. Nebraska’s NRDs are unique in the fact that they are established in river basins, which allows for natural resources management decisions to be made on a watershed basis. “NRDs are local government and local control,” explains Jasper Fanning, general manager of the Upper Republican NRD. “So, we’re very responsive to the local constituents and what their natural resources issues are. Because of this, I think we can deliver solutions to those problems in a more effective way, and in a more cost-effective way than state or federal agencies would be able to.” Statewide, NRDs share a set of common responsibilities. NRD managers meet with the Legislature every year, advocating on behalf of producers and in the interest of natural resources conservation. Each district is governed by a locally elected board of directors, and board members serve a term of four years. Each district fine-tunes its focus and programs to reflect the needs of its specific area. Areas of Impact “The Natural Resources Districts essentially manage or administer NSWCP [Nebraska Soil and Water Conservation Cost-Share Program] funding, which is state funding that’s passed through from the legislature to the local districts to provide some state resources for us to use in areas like range land management,” Fanning explains. “NRDs offer programs covering a wide variety of topics.” Farmers and ranchers across Nebraska can agree that water is one of their most precious resources. The High Plains Aquifer is the primary source of groundwater for many residents, and with nearly 80,000 miles of rivers and streams across the state, it is easy to see why some of the NRDs’ biggest projects are focused on water management and conservation. Groundwater management and conservation have been a top priority for more than 40 years. With some areas of the state seeing water allocations in place since the 1970s, NRDs have worked with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the Farm Service Agency (FSA) across the state to help producers manage their water while still producing high-yielding crops. “NRDs are granted authority to regulate and manage groundwater, both quantity and quality,” Fanning says. “Some areas of the state are dealing with water allocations, while other areas of the state actual-
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