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ago to provide additional funds for habitat projects along the Platte River. Although most <br />landowners are primarily interested in improving their land for waterfowl hunting, secondary <br />benefits to island clearing include improved habitat for whooping and sandhill cranes, piping <br />plovers, least terns, and other wildlife. <br />The recent increased demand for private lands assistance along the Platte River resulted <br />in the hiring this winter of a biologist who will focus solely on assisting private landowners <br />along the Platte River from Gothenburg to Columbus. This individual is being jointly funded <br />by the Game and Parks Commission and The Nature Conservancy. We are currently in <br />the process of setting up local advisory groups made up of farmers and ranchers to <br />determine what types of programs are needed to improve the Platte Valley's grazing lands <br />for cattle and wildlife production. The Game and Parks Commission has applied for a <br />$900,000 federal grant through the US Fish and Wildlife Service to provide funding for a <br />cost -share assistance program that will benefit producers along the Platte River. <br />Two programs through the US Department of Agriculture, -the Wetland Reserve Program <br />and the federal Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program have been very beneficial in the region <br />to producers and wildlife. The Wetland Reserve Program will pay for the cost of wetland <br />restoration and can pay producers up to 100% of the agricultural value of their land if they <br />are willing to enter into a conservation easement. The Wetland Reserve Program <br />encourages producers to graze and hay wetlands in this program to help maintain the <br />habitat benefits. The. Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program has been used to do several <br />projects aimed at improving grazing lands in the Platte River Valley. <br />Recent Projects <br />In December 2001, Todd Tyler, a farmer in Merrick County put nearly 900 acres of his <br />Platte River land in the Wetland. Reserve Program under perpetual easement. The US <br />Department of Agriculture paid the landowner 100% of the agricultural value of his land <br />The Game and Parks Commission along with Pheasants Forever, and Ducks Unlimited <br />paid for an easement on an additional 37 acres that did not qualify for the pro_ gram. The <br />Game and Parks Commission and US Fish and Wildlife Service will likely be contributing <br />additional funds towards the restoration. Within the last two months, five landowners in the <br />immediate vicinity of the Tyler farm have inquired about enrolling in the Wetland Reserve <br />Program. <br />In December 2001, two landowners downstream of the Ft. Kearny Hike -Bike bridge enlisted <br />the support of the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, US Fish and Wildlife Service, <br />Platte River Crane Trust, and the National Audubon Society to clear brush from several <br />Platte River islands to improve goose and duck hunting. A secondary benefit will be <br />improved viewing of sandhill cranes by the public from the Game and Parks Commission's <br />viewing bridge. <br />5 <br />