News

The Lewis and Clark Natural Resources District (LCNRD) awarded two Patefield-Green Memorial Scholarships to high school seniors in the 2023-2024 school year. LCNRD provides college scholarship funds to graduates who intend to pursue an agricultural-related career in hopes that they will return and contribute to local communities and to the... Read More

The National Ground Water Association (NGWA) and The Groundwater Foundation (GF) sponsor National Groundwater Awareness across the United States during the month of March. National Groundwater Awareness highlights the responsible development, management, and use of groundwater and is also a platform to encourage yearly water well testing and... Read More

Eleven elected directors guide the Lewis & Clark Natural Resources District (LCNRD) activities. Directors represent five subdistricts, with two directors serving from each subdistrict and one serving at-large. Directors are elected by the voters living within each subdistrict and serve four-year terms, with 5 to 6 seats up for election... Read More

Lewis and Clark Natural Resources District (LCNRD) held the second annual LCNRD Amateur Photography contest, which encouraged residents of the district to get out and capture the natural wonders of the district. Residents were asked to send in photographs representing nature, wildlife, conservation, and/or agriculture. Staff and directors... Read More

For the past 50 years, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s nitrogen application calculator has been used by producers to calculate the appropriate amount of nitrogen to apply to their corn crop fields. The calculator aims to help producers understand the 4Rs system when using nitrogen. The 4 Rs include Right source, Right rate, Right placement... Read More

In 2023, the Lewis and Clark Natural Resources District (LCNRD) board of directors implemented conservation practices, projects, and services in Northeast Nebraska to benefit local natural resources.  LCNRD activities are led by a board of eleven locally elected directors: Carolyn Heine, St. Helena; Russ Schmidt, St Helena; Jeff Steffen,... Read More

Windbreaks can serve many purposes in agricultural operations, such as preventing soil erosion,  providing wildlife habitat, and sequestering carbon. Another beneficial attribute of windbreaks is their ability to protect crops and improve crop production.

Wind can have detrimental effects on soil and agricultural crops. Persistent winds... Read More

Knox County Producer, Doug Steffen, is hightlighted for his use of compost extract in his nutrient management plan. Doug was the host for the 2023 Bow Creek Field Day where he demonstrated his process. Check out the article at https://www.farmprogress.com/soil-health/1113f1-1400-slideshow.

What is the Emerald Ash Borer?

Emerald ash borer (EAB) is a beetle native to Asia introduced to Detroit, MI in 2002. It has destroyed tens of millions of true ash species in over 25 states, including Nebraska, forests, windbreaks, and urban trees. Almost 44 million Nebraska ash trees will be lost in the coming years. Many leading EAB... Read More

Each spring, the Lewis and Clark Natural Resources District (LCNRD) distributes tree seedlings and provides planting services for windbreaks, shelterbelts, and wildlife habitat. Seedling orders are accepted now through March 31st. Planning assistance is available through local Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) offices for preparing... Read More

Regularly testing the water quality of your private well is important to maintaining a safe and reliable water source. Test results allow you to properly address specific problems with your water supply and ensure the water source is properly protected from potential contamination. Test results are also used to evaluate whether the well is... Read More

With the 2023 irrigation season coming to an end, it is a good idea to consider what can be done before next year to make irrigation management more efficient. A few things to consider when turning off your pivots for the year: an end-of-the-year checklist so that the pivot equipment is stored properly and is ready for the spring, any possible... Read More

The groundwater from aquifers supply most household water used in Nebraska. Efficient water use and good management practices of water use are necessary to maintain quantity and quality. Groundwater is a renewable resource, replenished mostly by precipitation that infiltrates into the soil and moves through the pore spaces down to the water... Read More

August is National Water Quality Month; it was founded in 2005 by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and backed by the United Nations. It is an effort to trigger conversations on what we can do in our own households and communities to ensure that we all have access to safe, clean drinking water for generations to come. 

National... Read More

The static water levels of 34 irrigation wells located throughout the Lewis and Clark Natural Resources District (LCNRD) are measured in the spring and fall each year. Groundwater levels measured this spring indicate that the levels have decreased on an overall comparison by 0.7 feet from the spring of 2022 with 22 of the 34 wells monitored... Read More

The region has been experiencing lower than average rainfall over the last several months and one heavy irrigation pumping season could result in significant declines in groundwater levels.  Dry conditions lead to increased irrigation use, which puts increased pressure on the groundwater resources of the district, and potentially results in... Read More

This is the snapshot from the last two weeks, and here is a link to the Current U.S. Drought Monitor for Nebraska https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?NE.

This is the snapshot from the last two weeks, and here is a link to the Current U.S. Drought Monitor for Nebraska https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?NE.

The Nebraska Department of Agriculture (NDA) has funding available through the Nebraska Buffer Strip Program to assist landowners in establishing buffer strips.  A buffer strip provides an area between a stream and crop ground to maximize the filtration of water from rain events allowing suspended sediment and chemicals to drop out before... Read More

Land within the Lewis and Clark Natural Resources District (LCNRD) boundaries has experienced considerable conversion of pasture and Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) land to row crop. Grassland acres with steep slopes which are broken out and brought into crop production run a high risk for erosion which could lead to sediment problems for... Read More

The Cedar Knox Rural Water Project (CKRWP) Advisory Committee recommended changing consideration of the primary site for the new water source development away from Dolphin Township. The Committee has decided instead to focus on alternative sources that have been previously identified through preliminary engineering studies conducted by Bartlett... Read More

The Lewis and Clark Natural Resources District (LCNRD), in partnership with the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD), is celebrating Stewardship Week from April 30 – May 7, 2023, focusing on the theme “One Water” and educating about watersheds.  

A watershed is an area of land that channels rainfall and snowmelt to... Read More

Lewis and Clark Natural Resources District (LCNRD) is asking the public for nominations for the Nebraska Association of Resources Districts (NARD) awards program.  Annually NARD presents awards in six categories as listed. These awards acknowledge individuals or organizations who have contributed to or brought awareness of the resources in the... Read More

The first Nebraska settlers realized the value of trees. They planted millions of trees on barren homesteads to help fulfill their basic needs for protection, building material, fuel, and food. Planting trees became a Nebraska tradition, and Nebraska proudly became known as “The Tree Planter State”.  Today, all Nebraskans benefit from the trees... Read More

The Lewis and Clark Natural Resources District (LCNRD) enacted a 180-day stay of development on high-capacity wells under the authority of Nebraska Revised Statutes, 46-707, at their regularly scheduled board meeting on November 17, 2022.  The board of directors clarified the language of the stay at their regular... Read More