The University of Nebraska–Lincoln has received a $21,355 grant from the Nebraska Environmental Trust to continue its work protecting terns and plovers in the state.

Larkin Powell, professor in the School of Natural Resources, leads the project.

The Tern and Plover Conservation Partnership works to balance the needs of private citizens, property owners, industry and piping plovers and interior least terns. The partnership works at sand and gravel mines, lakeshore housing developments and sandbars along the lower Platte, Loup and Elkhorn rivers. The recovery and delisting of these birds largely depends on the productivity of birds nesting at these sites. The TPCP is a team of experienced biologists and students implementing management and monitoring efforts.

The TPCP immerses students in conservation situations they will experience in their careers and teaches them how to work cooperatively for the benefit of species and people. The partnership helps ensure the survival of these two species and the economic success of the people who share their landscape.

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.