Our Public Policy work educates policy-makers and the public about wildlife. We are currently active in several major policy areas that are critical to Nebraska's wildlife and wild places.

Nebraska Rivers

Nebraska's rivers -- the Platte, Missouri, Republican, Niobrara, Loup, Big Blue and Little Blue, Elkhorn, Nemaha, and others -- are perhaps our state's greatest, and most underappreciated, natural asset. For thousands of years, these great rivers provided habitat for great flocks of migrating ducks, geese, and cranes, watered wandering bison, deer, and elk, flooded productive wetlands and wet meadows, and maintained the great Ogallala aquifer.

Today, Nebraska's rivers are beset by huge challenges.

Over-development has depleted river flows, drying up tributaries like Pumpkin Creek (below) and Frenchman Creek in western Nebraska. Some 70% of the Central Platte's historic flow (left) is now captured and used upstream by 15 major dams that can hold about five year's worth of the Platte's current flow.

The Niobrara River faces a rash of new water development that threatens a river that is canoed by some 30,000 people per year. Developers want to build houses and cabin developments on the river that would destroy the scenic vistas that make it a National Scenic River.

In 2006, after a decade of negotiations, a new Platte River Recovery Program was approved that provides real hope for the future of the Platte. Nebraska Wildlife Federation was at the table helping negotiate this 13-year, $187 million restoration program to restore and protect Platte River flows and habitat.

● Nebraska Wildlife Federation is working to protect Nebraska's rivers and streams, and to restore our state's aquatic habitat. NEWF is working to get Congress to authorize and fund the new Platte River Recovery Program, and working to get the Nebraska Legislature to live to to our state's promise to protect river flows for the future.

● We are supporting Nebraska Game & Parks Commission efforts to obtain an in-stream flow water right that would protect remaining Niobrara River flows from future water development.  

Water Quality

Nearly every major river in Nebraska is polluted, by some combination of pesticides, nutrients, bacteria, and sediment, from farm fields, livestock operations, factories, powerplants, and municipal wastewater and stormwater systems. Nebraska's legislature has devoted little attention or funding towards surface water quality, and the result is little progress in making Nebraska rivers fishable and swimmable once more.

● Nebraska Wildlife Federation is working with other conservation organizations to launch a public education campaign, and to support state funding to put in place watershed cleanup plans that will make our rivers and lakes swimmable and fishable once again.

Farm Conservation Programs

Over 95% of Nebraska's land base is privately owned farms and ranches -- split roughly evenly between cropland and ranch land. We cannot have healthy fish and wildlife populations in Nebraska without addressing wildlife on farms and ranches. The federal Farm Bill drives day to day decisions on most Nebraska farms, and federal farm conservation programs play a huge role in wildlife conservation on Nebraska farms and ranches.

● The Nebraska Wildlife Federation is at the forefront of efforts to improve Farm Bill conservation programs, including our work on the 2007 Farm Bill.

● We are working with other organizations to support more basic change in the structure of agriculture in Nebraska.

● NEWF provides advice to the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service State Technical Committee.

Click here for more information on NEWF's work in farm policy.

State and Local Issues

Nebraska's non-partisan, unicameral Legislature presents unique challenges and opportunities to influence state legislation. Every bill introduced is required to have a public hearing, and must go through three stages of debate before final passage. The open process of legislative action, along with the lack of closed-door conference committees that characterize bicameral legislatures, makes the Nebraska legislature accessible to the public.

Critical decisions made in the state legislature that impact Nebraska fish and wildlife include water policy, funding for wildlife and other state environmental programs, game & fish policy, and environmental regulation of water and air quality. When the Legislature is not in session, legislative committees hold interim study hearings to explore solutions to problems.

The Federation presents information at public hearings, contacts legislators and the Governor on key wildlife issues, cooperates with conservation and environmental other organizations, and alerts our members when votes on key issues are pending. Where the Federation has members who are interested in local wildlife, land use planning, and water quality issues, the Federation will provide advice and support to NEWF members willing to get actively involved at the local level. NEWF was instrumental in promoting a Greenprint for the Lincoln/Lancaster County area, which was carried out by then-Mayor Don Wesely's administration and which now guides zoning and land use decisions.