NORFOLK, Nebraska – At their September meeting, the Lower Elkhorn Natural Resources District (LENRD) Board of Directors voted to officially declare a drought across the district, which is comprised of all or parts of 15 counties in northeast Nebraska. The LENRD Board will continue to meet and discuss potential plans to respond if conditions worsen to a D4 drought. Their Drought Mitigation Plan is used to protect the health and welfare of the public as directed by the LENRD’s Groundwater Management Plan.

In other business, the Board voted to establish the average cost of Deep Soil Sampling for Fiscal Year 2021 as $55.99 per sample and to limit the number of cost-shareable samples to one sample per every 25 acres.

The board approved a contract with Derek and Austin Becker of Norfolk to complete Flow Meter Preventive Maintenance Services in the LENRD’s portion of Knox, Cedar, Dixon, Wayne, and Thurston Counties.

The board also certified 129 parcels of irrigated acres at the certification hearing held during the board meeting.

The LENRD board and staff meet each month to develop and implement management plans to protect our natural resources for the future. The next LENRD board meeting will be at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 22. Watch for further updates and stay connected with the LENRD by subscribing to their monthly emails.