NEBRASKAland Magazine is dedicated to outstanding photography and informative writing with an engaging mix of articles and photos highlighting Nebraska’s outdoor activities, parklands, wildlife, history and people.
Issue link: http://mag.outdoornebraska.gov/i/708333
22 NEBRASKAland • AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2016 Funds for Wildlife By Jerry Kane A nationwide panel of energy, business and conservation leaders on March 2 released its recommendations on how to avert the nation's growing endangered species crisis, according to the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA). The The Blue Ribbon Panel, co-chaired by former Wyoming Gov. David Freudenthal and Bass Pro Shops founder John Morris, determined that using a portion of revenues from energy and mineral development on federal lands and waters to fund state-based conservation could address conservation needs for thousands of species. An annual investment of $1.3 billion from these development revenues into the unfunded Wildlife Conservation Restoration Program would allow state fish and wildlife agencies to proactively manage these species, reducing taxpayer costs and the regulatory red tape that comes when species are listed under the federal Endangered Species Act. Annual allocations of dollars to the states would help address the gap in funding for wildlife conservation. Traditionally, state fish and wildlife agencies, such as the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, have been funded by sportsmen through license fees and excise taxes on hunting and fishing equipment and motorboat fuels. These funds support game species and conservation activities, but wildlife agencies also have responsibilities for restoring at-risk species' populations, education and keeping common species common, all of which is largely unfunded. States are poised to take action should the Blue Ribbon Panel be successful. Every state has a wildlife action plan. Collectively, these plans identify 12,000 species in greatest need for conservation efforts. Nebraska's wildlife action plan, the Natural Legacy Project, identifies 89 species of greatest conservation need. Of these, more than two dozen species of plants and animals in Nebraska are listed as threatened or endangered. If funded, Nebraska would collaborate with partners and landowners to implement proactive, voluntary projects to enhance our grasslands, combat invasive species, restore wetlands and improve our woodlands. ■ PHOTO BY BOB GRIER PHOTO BY ERIC FOWLER PHOTO BY JON FARRAR PHOTO BY JOEL JORGENSEN PHOTO BY KEN BOUC Piping plovers are found along shorelines, on mud flats and sand flats. In Nebraska, they can be found along the Platte River east of Lake McConaughy, and lower reaches of other major rivers. State: Threatened Federal: Threatened The swift fox, the smallest wild canine living in North America, can reach speeds up to 25 mph and lives in Nebraska's shortgrass prairies. State: Endangered Federal: not listed PHOTO BY ERIC FOWLER The Salt Creek tiger beetle is one of the world's rarest insects, with very limited habitat. It is known to occur only in Lancaster and Saunders Counties in Nebraska, just north of Lincoln. State: Endangered Federal: Endangered The small white lady's slipper is a perennial orchid found in native, wet meadows. State: Threatened Federal: not listed The pallid sturgeon is a long-lived fish that matures slowly. Pallid sturgeon can live more than 40 years, reach 5 to 6 feet in length and weigh up to 65 pounds. In the Missouri River along the Nebraska border, they rarely exceed 10 pounds. State: Endangered Federal: Endangered