How much do you know about your local Natural Resources District (NRD)?

If you are reading this, you more than likely live in the Upper Loup Natural Resources District. The Upper Loup NRD covers all of Grant, Hooker, Thomas, Blaine, and Logan counties as well as parts of Cherry, Brown, and McPherson counties. Those counties are then divided into 5 sub districts.

The Upper Loup NRD is headquartered in Thedford, just west of Pearson Livestock and south of the new fire hall in town. The Upper Loup NRD has 5 full time employees and 2 part time. Our district covers 4,275,000 acres and has a population of less than 5,000 people. Of the total acres in the district 91% is comprised of grassland, 5% open water and wetlands, 2% other ag lands or barren ground, 1% forest, 1% irrigated cropland, less than 1% dryland crops, and less than 1% urban and roads. The Upper Loup NRD is governed by 11 elected directors, 2 from each sub district and one at large. The NRD is funded through property taxes and consumer sales. The Upper Loup NRD maintains a responsible budget to lessen the tax burden of its constituents, for example, on a property that is valued at $50,000 a year the ULNRD’s share is only $12.50 per year. NRD’s have the ability to levy up to 4.5 cents and for the last 10 plus years the Upper Loup NRD has kept its levy around 2.5 cents.  

Nebraska’s NRD’s are tasked with protecting the states groundwater from overuse and pollution. Each district also has other tasks they deem important to the area. For our district, some important topics include Soil and Land Conservation, Trees and Wildlife Habitat, Recycling, Groundwater Quality and Quantity Management, and Education. Stay tuned for articles on what the ULNRD is doing in each specific area.