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We know that the Good Life in Nebraska is all about the great outdoors and we want leaders who make the right choices so that our children and grandchildren can inherit the same rich and healthy environment we enjoy today.
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Why Conservation
Middle loup river

There
is an opening along the bank, where the Middle Loup River bends wide
and shallow, before melting into the Platte. Standing at the river’s
edge, I am hemmed in from behind by wise, old cottonwoods and the
occasional red cedar. There is a small finger of backwater to my left,
excellent for bull-head and carp, heron and muskrat. At my feet, this
wonderful prairie river flows on a gentle, southeast grade.
I’ve been coming here since I was in grade school, with a friend and
his family. When I’m not here, I’m wishing I were, wondering what
surprises the river has left for me; new sandbars, new channels, new
islands to explore. As kids we would play football and frisbee in the
shallow current. We would comb under the banks for snapping turtles
and lift driftwood in search of toads to use as bait on set-lines. We
would watch for pockets of still water, knowing it runs deep and would
make the best swimming holes. At night we would lay on the sandbars
and watch the steady explosion of stars, which would show themselves
with such stunning force I would experience vertigo looking up at
them. And in the morning, we would watch the fresh deer tracks slowly
fill with water.
As I’ve grown older and started a family, trips to the river have become less frequent. Even so, the importance of that small cut of wilderness in my life, and the lives of many others, cannot be understated. As a first generation Nebraskan, I am anxious for the day when I can take my son onto the river, hoping he will create his own memories, while learning the lessons of conservation (patience, respect, understanding, awe) that were instilled in me.
- Bil Johnson
Upcoming Events
- 05/08/2009, 5:30pmGet Your Tickets to Joe's Club BBQ, May 8
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