A University of Nebraska–Lincoln project to fund students and equipment for forest and prairie management at Cedar Point Biological Station has received a $13,842 grant from the Nebraska Environmental Trust.
Jon Garbisch, associate director of Cedar Point, leads the project.
The funding will help support student intern stipends and equipment and supplies at Cedar Point, the university’s field-based experiential classroom and research area in Western Nebraska. With NET support, Cedar Point staff have had success over the past several years in removing and processing red cedar trees into a wide variety of products that are immediately useful for the facility. They’ve demonstrated that red cedar is a resource and far more than an invasive plant that needs to be removed.
With the grant, staff will purchase a used sawmill, repairs and parts for existing equipment used to manage red cedar removal and processing, and assorted gloves, protective equipment and hand tools. These supplies are used by the student interns, staff and many volunteers and facilitate hundreds of hours of volunteer time removing red cedar trees, improving trails and using resources generated for various sustainable projects around the CPBS facility.
The project is one of 118 receiving $20 million in grant awards from the NET this year. Of these, 73 were new applications and 45 are carry-over projects.
The Nebraska Legislature created the NET in 1992. Using revenue from the Nebraska Lottery, the trust has provided more than $328 million in grants to more than 2,300 projects across the state. Anyone – citizens, organizations, communities, farmers and businesses – can apply for funding to protect habitat, improve water quality and establish recycling programs in Nebraska. The NET works to preserve, protect and restore the state’s natural resources for future generations.
