The Sandhills Task Force provides technical and financial assistance to help you meet your conservation goals. Types of conservation projects include Eastern red cedar control, grazing system improvement, stream and wetland restoration, and lake renovation.
Eastern Red Cedar Control
Eastern red cedars have become problematic within the Sandhills and elsewhere in Nebraska by encroaching on native grasslands and reducing the quality and quantity of habitat for grassland-dependent wildlife and grazing livestock. The Sandhills Task Force can help you decide the best course of action to control the invasion and provide support through the entire process. Funds are available for prescribed burns and mechanical control. “Be a Leader, Kill Your Cedar!”
Grazing System Improvement
Do you have questions about your grazing system? We’d love to visit with you about them and share our experiences. If you want to change your system to benefit wildlife, birds, ecosystem health, and your bottom line, we have funds available to help with the needed infrastructure.
Stream and Wetland Restoration
The Sandhills are home to over a million acres of wetlands, and many have been manipulated in ways that have caused degradation over time. For example, wet meadows and streams were ditched, straightening the channel to facilitate water movement and seasonal haying and grazing. Over time, these ditches and streams become more incised, further lowering the water table within the meadow. As a result, these meadows have degraded due to the altered hydrology and are less productive habitats for wildlife and livestock grazing or haying. We want to help you restore the hydrology and enable them to function better. We have some funds to do this work, and we’re happy to raise more if you have a big project.
Many Sandhill lakes are suffering from an invasion of common carp. Carp muddy the water, making it so desirable fish cannot survive. The muddy water also deters waterfowl and beneficial wetland plants. This negative effect of carp invasion in Sandhills lakes and wetlands has been well observed and documented for several years. Chemical rehabilitation of lakes and wetlands has occurred since the 1970s to eradicate carp from otherwise productive wetland ecosystems. We can help remove the carp and install structures to prevent re-infestation. The changes are fast and almost unbelievable!
Who to Contact:
For information on our cost-share and easement programs or for technical assistance, don’t hesitate to get in touch with the Sandhills Task Force Project Coordinator, Ashley Garrelts, at firstname.lastname@example.org, or 307-351-0935.