The Nebraska Environment Trust (NET) has awarded Ducks Unlimited four grants to restore miles of degraded wetland habitat along the North Platte and South Platte rivers.
“The restoration will increase the properties’ capacity to provide wetland habitat in Platte River sloughs ,” said John Denton, DU’s Nebraska manager of conservation programs.
DU will make the wetlands functional again through shallow excavations to get rid of sediment, installing water-control structures, planting grass buffers around wetlands and removing invasive tree species.
“Given that nearly 99 percent of land is in private ownership in Nebraska, we must work with private landowners to achieve our goals and benefit wildlife and the environment, ” Denton said. “These properties are prime examples of protecting and restoring habitat on private land for the benefit of all.”
The work will also benefit people in the area by improving water quality, providing ground water recharge and giving the local economy a boost through the use of local contractors.