44 Nebraskaland • October 2021
doing professional-level work for several organizations in the
state, it's all for free, on his own time.
It's fun for him, Schrad said, and he enjoys being outdoors.
But that's not his only motivation.
"When I retired, I wanted to get back to fi eld work," Schrad
said. "I was looking for an organization I could volunteer for,
and that's when I found the Master Naturalists."
He's referring to the Nebraska Master Naturalist Program,
which off ers training and volunteer opportunities to anyone
interested in the natural world. As part of his training,
Schrad sat in on a presentation about Nebraska Game and
Parks' Natural Legacy Project, a blueprint for conservation of
Nebraska's at-risk species.
Kristal Stoner, the program manager at the time, told the
group that they were in need of volunteers willing to help
them fi nd and record these species. "That kind of rang a bell
with me," Schrad said.
He approached Stoner, and they realized his skills would be
a great match for one of the program's needs: monitoring Tier
1 species of small mammals, or those identifi ed as species of
greatest conservation need — including the plains pocket
Schrad records data about one of his fi nds on a foggy October morning at the Platte River Prairies, located in south-central
Nebraska. EVAN BARRIENTOS
One of the Sherman live traps that Schrad puts out
overnight, baited with oatmeal and birdseed.
RENAE BLUM, NEBRASKALAND
