Nebraska NAWCA Proposal Gets Council Nod
During its December 9 meeting, the North American Wetlands Conservation Council (NAWCC) recommended awarding $855,000 in matching funds for a $3 million conservation project that would protect in perpetuity 3,000 acres along the North Platte River in western Nebraska. The project, titled North Platte Basin Project I, was submitted by Platte River Basin Environments, Inc. (PRBE) to the North American Wetlands Conservation Act Standard Grants program.
PRBE is a non-profit conservation partnership made up of federal and state wildlife agencies, national and local conservation and sportsmen groups, based in Scottsbluff, Nebraska. The project involves protecting a 3,092-acre wetland and upland complex through acquisition, restoration and enhancement on land that provides important migratory, breeding and wintering habitat for a variety of birds, including northern pintail, western grebe, long-billed curlew, red-headed woodpecker and Swainson's hawk.
Partners involved in the project include the Nebraska Environmental Trust, Ducks Unlimited, National Wild Turkey Federation, Pheasants Forever, University of Nebraska, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and several private landowners, among others.
PLJV Offers Timely Tips on Applying for NAWCA Grants
The PLJV has developed a timeline for conservation organizations that are considering applying for a NAWCA Standard Grant within the Joint Venture's six-state region. NAWCA grants are partnership-based and the success of a proposal depends largely on the working relationship of the people and organizations aligned around the project. The proposals take a significant time investment in planning, writing, coordination and communication, and the PLJV timeline provides useful organization and scheduling suggestions for prospective applicants.
PLJV Management Board to Meet in Woodward, Oklahoma
The PLJV Management Board and teams will conduct their winter meeting in Woodward, Oklahoma January 20 - 22. Among the agenda items for the board will be to decide which of the conservation project proposals submitted to the Joint Venture in December will receive grants from the PLJV's ConocoPhillips funds, and discuss recent legislation introduced by Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS) to protect playa lakes through Farm Bill programs. While in Woodward, the Oklahoma Wildlife and Prairie Heritage Alliance (OWPHA), a local conservation partnership supported by the PLJV, will host the board, teams and guests on a tour of playa projects in the vicinity. A more detailed report of board meeting happenings will appear in the next Playa Post.
Playa Post ©2003 Playa Lakes Joint Venture.
During its December 9 meeting, the North American Wetlands Conservation Council (NAWCC) recommended awarding $855,000 in matching funds for a $3 million conservation project that would protect in perpetuity 3,000 acres along the North Platte River in western Nebraska. The project, titled North Platte Basin Project I, was submitted by Platte River Basin Environments, Inc. (PRBE) to the North American Wetlands Conservation Act Standard Grants program.
PRBE is a non-profit conservation partnership made up of federal and state wildlife agencies, national and local conservation and sportsmen groups, based in Scottsbluff, Nebraska. The project involves protecting a 3,092-acre wetland and upland complex through acquisition, restoration and enhancement on land that provides important migratory, breeding and wintering habitat for a variety of birds, including northern pintail, western grebe, long-billed curlew, red-headed woodpecker and Swainson's hawk.
Partners involved in the project include the Nebraska Environmental Trust, Ducks Unlimited, National Wild Turkey Federation, Pheasants Forever, University of Nebraska, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and several private landowners, among others.
"We are very proud of the number of partners we have, and our success depends largely on the guidance and mentoring of the many organizations that have contributed money and expertise to our projects," said Hod Kosman, President of PRBE. "More importantly, we have always relied on good science, biology and information from our partners."
The Nebraska project was one of 17 U.S. proposals recommended for funding by the Council totaling $15,812,889. In March, the U.S. Migratory Bird Conservation Commission will make the final decision on which projects will receive NAWCA funding.
PLJV Offers Timely Tips on Applying for NAWCA Grants
The PLJV has developed a timeline for conservation organizations that are considering applying for a NAWCA Standard Grant within the Joint Venture's six-state region. NAWCA grants are partnership-based and the success of a proposal depends largely on the working relationship of the people and organizations aligned around the project. The proposals take a significant time investment in planning, writing, coordination and communication, and the PLJV timeline provides useful organization and scheduling suggestions for prospective applicants.
PLJV Management Board to Meet in Woodward, Oklahoma
The PLJV Management Board and teams will conduct their winter meeting in Woodward, Oklahoma January 20 - 22. Among the agenda items for the board will be to decide which of the conservation project proposals submitted to the Joint Venture in December will receive grants from the PLJV's ConocoPhillips funds, and discuss recent legislation introduced by Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS) to protect playa lakes through Farm Bill programs. While in Woodward, the Oklahoma Wildlife and Prairie Heritage Alliance (OWPHA), a local conservation partnership supported by the PLJV, will host the board, teams and guests on a tour of playa projects in the vicinity. A more detailed report of board meeting happenings will appear in the next Playa Post.
Playa Post ©2003 Playa Lakes Joint Venture.
Partner Profile: Platte River Basin Environments, Inc.
Platte River Basin Environments, Inc. (PRBE) started as an informal group of conservation-minded individuals who aspired to carry on the legacy of their departed friend, Clive Ostenberg, who was an avid outdoorsman and donated generously to protect wildlife habitat in Nebraska.
Originally formed in 1989 under the name the Ostenberg Flyway Group, over the course of a decade, they organized the purchase and protection of more than 3,000 acres forming the Kiowa, Facus and Cedar Canyon Wildlife Management Areas in western Nebraska in cooperation with a number of partners including the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, The Nature Conservancy, Nebraska Environmental Trust Fund, Ducks Unlimited, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Pheasants Forever, and Panhandle Area Development, to name a few.
This broad base of partners filed for non-profit status in 2000 and renamed the coalition Platte River Basin Environments, Inc. PRBE's first success was the purchase and restoration of the Mitchell Valley and Spotted Tail Complex totaling about 1,400 acres of riparian and upland habitat along the North Platte River. This was achieved through a $1.5 million grant from the Nebraska Environmental Trust and additional contributions from Ducks Unlimited and Pheasants Forever, among others.
In 2002, PRBE was successful in securing a $50,000 NAWCA Small Grant to acquire 200 acres of wetland and upland habitat, and which led to PRBE submitting a NAWCA Standard Grant proposal this year. PRBE worked closely with the PLJV on the grant proposal, which has recently been recommended by the North American Wetlands Conservation Council for funding.
"We are very proud and appreciative of being a part of the PLJV, and have gained a great a deal with this association, and look forward to promoting and expanding the very noble purposes that we are working for," said Hod Kosman, PRBE President.
PRBE's vision is to create systems that are large, comprehensive and diverse enough to ensure that the wildlife of the region can remain in place for the future, said Kosman.
"Our properties are well located to create a system as opposed to isolated enclaves," he said. Before PRBE got started, there were only a few public-access points along the North Platte between eastern Wyoming and Lake McConaughy in western Nebraska. Given PRBE's history of successes, they are well on their way to achieving that vision.
Originally formed in 1989 under the name the Ostenberg Flyway Group, over the course of a decade, they organized the purchase and protection of more than 3,000 acres forming the Kiowa, Facus and Cedar Canyon Wildlife Management Areas in western Nebraska in cooperation with a number of partners including the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, The Nature Conservancy, Nebraska Environmental Trust Fund, Ducks Unlimited, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Pheasants Forever, and Panhandle Area Development, to name a few.
This broad base of partners filed for non-profit status in 2000 and renamed the coalition Platte River Basin Environments, Inc. PRBE's first success was the purchase and restoration of the Mitchell Valley and Spotted Tail Complex totaling about 1,400 acres of riparian and upland habitat along the North Platte River. This was achieved through a $1.5 million grant from the Nebraska Environmental Trust and additional contributions from Ducks Unlimited and Pheasants Forever, among others.
In 2002, PRBE was successful in securing a $50,000 NAWCA Small Grant to acquire 200 acres of wetland and upland habitat, and which led to PRBE submitting a NAWCA Standard Grant proposal this year. PRBE worked closely with the PLJV on the grant proposal, which has recently been recommended by the North American Wetlands Conservation Council for funding.
"We are very proud and appreciative of being a part of the PLJV, and have gained a great a deal with this association, and look forward to promoting and expanding the very noble purposes that we are working for," said Hod Kosman, PRBE President.
PRBE's vision is to create systems that are large, comprehensive and diverse enough to ensure that the wildlife of the region can remain in place for the future, said Kosman.
"Our properties are well located to create a system as opposed to isolated enclaves," he said. Before PRBE got started, there were only a few public-access points along the North Platte between eastern Wyoming and Lake McConaughy in western Nebraska. Given PRBE's history of successes, they are well on their way to achieving that vision.