THIS is 70 collective years of service to constituents of the Papio NRD – working together to protect natural resources across the District!
Five employees and three departing board members were recognized for their service at last night’s board meeting.
With years of employment ranging from 10 to 25 years at the Papio NRD, it’s clear our team members are committed to fulfilling our mission and bring a wealth of knowledge in doing so. We thank and congratulate our employees and outgoing Directors for their dedication to the citizens we serve.
Papio NRD Employees
Tom Pleiss, Assistant Park Superintendent (25 years) – Not pictured
Lori Laster, Stormwater Management Engineer (15 years)
Eric Williams, Natural Resources Planner (10 years)
Joe Riebe, GIS Specialist (10 years)
Mark Wille, Medium Equipment Operator (10 years) – Not pictured
Left to right: Tim McCormick, board chairperson; Lori Laster; Joe Riebe; Eric Williams; John Winkler, general manager.
Departing Board Directors
Ted Japp, Subdistrict #1
Patrick Bonnett, Subdistrict #9
Josh Henningsen, Subdistrict #7, Not pictured
Left to right: Tedd Japp, Director; John Winkler, general manager; Tim McCormick, board chairperson; Patrick Bonnett, Director.
Great for Windbreaks, Wildlife Habit, and Living Snow Fences
The Papio NRD is accepting orders for tree and shrub seedlings.
Through the Conservation Tree Program, homeowners, acreage owners, producers, and operators can purchase bare-root seedlings for $30/bundle plus tax. There are 25 seedlings of the same species per bundle. Multiple species are available. There are also two “variety” bundles available to order which include five different species in a bundle of 20 seedlings for $30 plus tax.
Papio NRD crews planting tree seedlings.
The seedlings are ideal for windbreaks, wildlife habitat, and living snow fences designed to reduce blowing and drifting snow. Many tree/shrub projects are eligible for Papio NRD cost share which can significantly reduce out-of-pocket costs.
Orders will be accepted through February 21st, 2025.
For more information, or to receive an order form with the species list, please contact one of our Field Office representatives in your county:
Washington, Douglas & Sarpy counties: Kalani Fortina at 402-426-4782 ext. 3 Burt County: Deb Ward at 402-374-1920 ext. 3 Thurston County: Tamara Tipton at 402-846-5655 Dakota County: Mahkenna Koinzan at 402-494-4949
The Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District Board of Directors will see three new faces following the 2024 General Election.
Rodney Storm, former City Manager of Blair, will represent Subdistrict 1, replacing Ted Japp, who chose not to run for reelection.
Omaha physician, Anne Hubbard, defeated incumbent Patrick Bonnet, securing the Subdistrict 9 seat. Brian Adams, a senior leader at OPPD, will represent Subdistrict 7, replacing Josh Henningsen, who chose not to seek another term.
Incumbent Larry Bradley retains his seat in Subdistrict 3 after defeating challenger Grant Melotz. Incumbents Phil Davidson (Subdistrict 11) and Rich Tesar (Subdistrict 5) ran unopposed.
Additional members of the Papio NRD Board of Directors include Fred Conley (Subdistrict 2), Tim McCormick (Subdistrict 4), Jim Thompson (Subdistrict 6), Tim Fowler (Subdistrict 8), and Zachary Irvine (Subdistrict 10).
The Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District Board of Directors is an 11-member board that sets policy for Papio NRD programs and projects and oversees a $118 million annual operating budget.
The drinking water notice issued by the Village of Pender and the Papio NRD for customers of the Thurston County Rural Water System has been lifted. The Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy confirms testing for the amount of nitrates in the drinking water is below the regulatory standard and the water is safe for all customers to drink.
While the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy confirmed on Friday that testing for nitrates in drinking water for the Thurston Rural Water County System indicates the amount of nitrates is now below the regulatory standard (safe to drink), the drinking water notice CANNOT be lifted until after a mandatory 7 day waiting period.
Please continue to follow the notice until the all-clear is given, which we hope will be this Friday (8th).
Following a drinking water notice issued by the Village of Pender, the Papio NRD has also issued a drinking water notice for customers of the Thurston Rural Water System until testing confirms safe nitrate levels.
Adults and children older than six months can drink the tap water. Do NOT allow infants, pregnant women, or nursing mothers to drink the water. Also, do NOT boil the water.
The Papio NRD is providing bottled water for system customers at the Village of Pender Office at 614 Main Street.
Customers can find more detailed information here regarding what they should and shouldn’t do until the notice is lifted.
The Papio NRD and Village of Pender are working with the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy and will update customers on the status of the testing process and when the notice has been lifted.
For more information, please contact Lowell Roeber at 712-253-9014.
More than 600 high school students from 30 area schools competed in the Northeast Area Land Judging Competition on Wednesday, October 2nd, in Blair, Nebraska, to test their knowledge of soil structure and land evaluation.
The Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District (Papio NRD) hosted the annual competition on an acreage in Blair where students assessed physical features of the soil, such as texture, permeability, thickness, wetness, slope, erosion, depth, and organic matter.
Land judging enables participants to learn how to recognize the physical attributes of soil, determine land capability for crop production, and evaluate management practices needed for proper stewardship.
Eight teams (West Point, Norfolk, Wisner-Pilger, Lyons-Decatur Northeast, Tekamah-Herman, Pierce, Oakland Craig, and North Bend) and one individual, Aubree Schlueter of Logan View, advance to the state land judging competition in Norfolk, Nebraska, on October 16th, 2024.
The competition was sponsored by the Papio NRD in partnership with the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
The Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District Board of Directors has selected a new Director to fill the board’s Subdistrict 10 vacancy.
The Board appointed Zachary Irvine, a Lead Systems Engineer at the MITRE Corporation. Irvine is also a retired lieutenant colonel with more than 22 years of military leadership.
Irvine will officially participate in his first board meeting on November 14th. He replaces Kevyn Sopinski, who resigned in August.
Papillion Creek Watershed Project
Improvement Plan Approved
Plan to provide environmental and safety benefits to eastern Nebraska communities
LINCOLN, Nebraska – In August 2024, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Nebraska Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), in partnership with the Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District (Papio NRD), received official approval on the Papillion Creek Watershed Project Improvement Plan. The plan, an extension of an effort that began in 1966, promises to deliver significant environmental and safety benefits to residents across Washington, Douglas, and Sarpy counties.
From left, Papio NRD General Manager John Winkler, NRCS State Conservationist Robert Lawson, and Papio NRD Director Patrick Bonnett.
The original planning effort led to the construction of 30 grade control structures, which have been instrumental in reducing flooding and stream channel erosion within the watershed. Building on this foundation, a local group, the Papillion Creek Watershed Partnership (PCWP), was formed in 2001 to identify future projects to further protect and enhance the watershed.
In 2019, the Papio NRD utilized the NRCS Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Operations (WFPO) program, which has been critical in advancing the latest supplemental plan, which identifies 40 new watershed protection projects aimed at stabilizing degrading streams, reducing erosion and sediment, mitigating flood damage, and improving public safety.
NRCS contributed $560,000 toward the completion of the plan, enabling the Papio NRD to qualify for additional NRCS financial assistance for developing detailed project designs, anticipated to begin in 2025.
“NRCS is proud to provide both technical and financial support to the Papio-Missouri River NRD,” said Nebraska State Conservationist Rob Lawson. “Our top priority is to help local sponsors identify and complete watershed projects that enhance natural resources and ensure public safety.”
The Papillion Creek Watershed, spanning 245,800 acres in eastern Nebraska, includes a large portion of Omaha and the surrounding communities of Papillion, Elkhorn, Millard, and Ralston. The projects outlined in the Supplemental Plan are designed to address the pressing environmental challenges faced by these rapidly growing areas.
“The Papio NRD appreciates our strong working relationship and strategic partnership with the NRCS,” said Papio NRD General Manager John Winkler. “This is just one more textbook example of how partnerships maximize public safety and the wise management of our natural resources while simultaneously reducing the reliance on local property taxes and other scarce local resources. Nebraska has the very best natural resource management system in the country, and arguably the world, and this type of project makes us that much better,” said Winkler.
The Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Operations (WFPO) program provides technical and financial assistance to states, local governments and tribes to plan and implement authorized project plans for completing numerous watershed enhancements.
We saw a drought snapping amount of rain this past spring and with that we saw a dramatic amount of topsoil erosion. Without implementation of soil erosion mitigation practices, you likely saw a lot of silt flow into the low elevations of your fields. If you have thought about how to reduce that soil loss, we at the Papio NRD have cost share incentives for you.
If you are in the Papillion Creek Watershed, the Papio NRD can work with you on cost share opportunities for the planting of cover crops on your field. The great thing about cover crops is that they not only help reduce the amount of topsoil loss in the event of major rain events like those we saw this past spring, but also increase the amount of organic matter in the topsoil after they are terminated in the spring.
We also work with USDA agencies to provide more cost share programs such as field borders and Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) grassed waterways. In the case of the CRP grassed waterways, we provide an additional $150 per acre of waterway, totaling $450 per acre per year, within the Papillion Creek Watershed.
For more information, please call the Papio NRD Blair Field Office at (402) 426-2625 or Charles Stanley at (402) 350-3695.
At its September 12th meeting, the Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District (Papio NRD) Board of Directors voted to approve the Fiscal Year 2025 general operating budget that includes a significant decrease in the Papio NRD property tax levy.
Papio NRD Board of Directors
“Again, the District has prepared a budget that reduces the tax levy to its lowest in 25 years while funding the increasing need for additional flood mitigation, water quality, recreation opportunities, maintenance of aging infrastructure, and erosion control,” said Tim McCormick, chairman of the Papio NRD Board of Directors. “The system was tested by this past year’s record storms and worked as designed but is at its capacity. As our region develops, additional capacity is required to provide adequate flood mitigation. I commend the District’s ability to do so much while holding tax requests in check,” said McCormick.
For 19 out of 20 years, the Papio NRD has either decreased or kept the property tax levy the same. This fiscal year’s total tax request is 2.5% above last year’s budget. The District will drop its property tax mill levy by 5.61% this fiscal year.
“The Papio NRD clearly understands that high property valuation assessments and taxes are negatively impacting many of our constituents’ finances,” said John Winkler, general manager of the Papio NRD. “Through consistent, methodical and conservative financial and operational management, as well as, securing hundreds of millions of dollars in grant funding and cost shares over the last twenty years, this budget allows the Papio NRD to once again lower its property tax levy while simultaneously funding critical public safety projects and programs,” said Winkler.
Winkler says over the last five years the Papio NRD’s actual tax request increase has been below inflation and averaged five to ten percent below the average assessed valuation increase.
The Papio NRD’s FY25 property tax levy would drop to 0.029568 per $100 of assessed valuation from the District’s FY24 property tax levy of 0.031324 per $100 of assessed valuation. Under this budget, a homeowner in the District with property valued at $150,000 would pay $44.36 a year or $3.70 a month in property taxes next year to support Papio NRD projects, programs, and services. The budget calls for an estimated $31.5 million in revenue from the Papio NRD’s property tax levy. The total operating budget is estimated at $118.3 million.
The property tax levy is based on an estimated 8.6% increase in valuations across the District, which includes all of Sarpy, Douglas, Washington, and Dakota counties, plus the eastern 60% of Burt and Thurston counties.
The Papio NRD receives less than 2% of all property taxes collected within the District’s six-county area. The remaining 98% goes to schools, cities, counties, and other taxing entities.
