Improving Conservation Planning, Design, and Delivery for South-Central Nebraska Through Integration of GIC, Spatial Modeling, and LIDAR Technology

The purpose of this award is for the grantee to acquire detailed elevation information for South-Central Nebraska to incorporate into conservation planning models, project design, and conservation program delivery to producers.The project will provide the Rainwater Basin Joint Venture and conservation partners with accurate elevation data derived from LIDAR. The elevation data will then be integrated with detailed spatial data to create models and decision support tools to improve natural resource planning, design, and implementation of conservation practices in the Rainwater Basin Wetland Complex, Central Platte River Corridor, Republican River, and NRCS-Major Land Resource Area – 75. Integrated LIDAR will enable all conservation partners to plan and prioritize conservation efforts for specific programs such as WRP, EQIP, WHIP, and CRP. It will also allow for better planning and prioritization for specific natural resource issues such as: improving water quality through better site selection of riparian buffer strips or waterways or improving wildlife Habitat by targeting grassland improvements. The elevation data will also be used by partners to improve their effectiveness and increase the number of conservation projects. Shrinking NRCS and partner engineering staffs are creating a significant backlog of projects in Nebraska. Much of the survey and design data could be obtained through LIDAR elevation data. Many design features could be accessed from the office on the computer. Increasing design efficiency would allow increased numbers of conservation projects throughout all conservation programs requiring engineering input.