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Executive Director Corner
The harvest continues with most of the beans completed and finishing up on the corn. The weather continues to be extremely variable, but with some nice days mixed in. November has been pretty dry, but that may change real soon. It seems cattle prices are up one day and down the next.
We currently have a full board again, as Jeff Kanger and Dr. Anthone were recently added. The board met on November 7th and the Grants Committee has begun meeting to score grants. The Grants Committee will continue meeting until early January. Our website has the 200 word summaries of the 111 new grants.
I attended the 2019 Nebraska Water Conference in Norfolk last month and participated on a panel. It is always interesting to get updates on the many things happening in the Water World in Nebraska. The Trust had a booth at the recent annual Nebraska Wind and Solar Wind Conference held in Lincoln.
Nebraska’s football sellout record of 374 games has been cemented with the second place Notre Dame streak ending at 273 games last weekend. It is hard to believe we stand alone in this category after all of the recent hard times the program endured. I attended the Wisconsin game and saw some improvement, but there were a lot of things that still need improved. The Maryland game is a must win to have any hope of a bowl game bid and then Iowa must be beat for that to become a reality. I think the Huskers can beat both of those teams, but Iowa will require a complete game from the Huskers, something I have not seen this season.
The volleyball team continues to play well and is ranked #6. Coach Cook has noted they tend to lose their focus, as evidenced last weekend when an un-ranked Iowa came into town and took two sets from Nebraska. Nebraska had only dropped one set to Iowa in the past 31 seasons (only three sets since they began playing each other in 1978) and they dropped two on Saturday. This week they face two top 10, Big 10 opponents (#7 Minnesota and #5 Wisconsin). Creighton volleyball is currently ranked a respectable #12. The Husker men’s basketball team is struggling a bit (1-2), but the women are starting off 4-0. So if you get a chance, try to catch a game at the Vault.
I hope everyone is able to spend Thanksgiving with family and friends and reflect as we near the end of another year. Go Big Red!
Mark A. Brohman
Executive Director
New Appointments to Nebraska Environmental Trust Board
The Nebraska Environmental Trust is pleased to announce that Dr. Gary Anthone has been named to the Trust board by Governor Pete Ricketts commencing October 3, 2019. Dr. Anthone is the new Chief Medical Officer and director of the Division of Public Health.
Dr. Anthone comes to the state position from a private surgical practice in Omaha. He is also a faculty member in the Department of Surgery at Creighton University. Before that he was director of bariatric surgery at Omaha’s Methodist Hospital and at the University of Southern California.
The position was previously held by Dr. Tom Williams, who announced his retirement last August.
Dr. Anthone said, “I’m excited about the opportunity to serve on the board and look forward to learning more about the many important projects the Nebraska Environmental Trust funds across the state.”
The Trust Board is comprised of 14 members representing the State of Nebraska and its citizens. Nine citizen representatives are appointed by the Governor to serve six year terms. Three representatives are chosen from each congressional district, serve without pay and represent a wide variety of natural resource interests. Five agency directors make up the remaining seats on the board to provide coordination with existing state resources.
The Trust also received word that board member, Sherry Vinton has also been reappointed for another 6 year term until March 10, 2025. Sherry has been with the NET Board since March 2007 and brings much experience to the table. She represents District III.
A new board member that was also appointed is Mr.Jeff Kanger, who will serve from November 4, 2019 to March 10, 2025. Mr Kanger replaces Mr McIntosh. Mr. Kanger will represent District I.
The Trust will be running separate articles about Ms. Vinton and Mr. Kanger in the upcoming Newsletters.
A staff of five handles the day-to-day activities of the organization.
2019 Public Information and Education Grant Report
2019 marks the tenth full year that the Nebraska Academy of Sciences (NAS) has administered the Nebraska Environmental Trust (NET) Public Information and Education mini-grant program. The first grants that the Academy reviewed were submitted in the fourth quarter of 2009 and were awarded in 2010. Since then NAS has reviewed and awarded over $410,000 to numerous recipients all across the state.
In calendar year 2019 NAS received a total of 33 grant applications and a total request of $92,048. Over $43,298 has been awarded to date this year and the fourth quarter award is yet to be determined. Grant applications for the first quarter of 2020 will be accepted until January 6th, 2020.
This past year NAS received applications for numerous types of projects; recycling guides, water quality and water ways exhibits, public events and education projects, as well as habitat and environmental education and improvement projects. Grants were awarded to a few public events and quite a number of grants were given to entities for conference or meeting support in order to bring in special speakers, publish educational materials, or provide activities to help attendees understand environmental concepts. Awards were granted to school groups, private foundations, individuals, and government entities such as NRDs, and city and county governments.
These projects all promise to improve our environment, increase education in environmental areas, and touch many of our Nebraska citizens in meaningful ways. Here are just a few examples of grants submitted in 2019.
-18-03-1P Lincoln Earth Day; Lincoln Earth Day 2018
-18-04-1P Keep Omaha Beautiful; Only Rain Down the Drain
-18-05-2P Nebraska Humanities Council; Water Ways Exhibition
-18-05-3P Upper Niobrara White NRD; Range Day 2019
One of the guidelines NAS reviewers use in evaluating grant applications is how many people are reached with the limited funds available and how easy it would be for other groups to use the same materials or process to reach an even wider audience. The groups mentioned above do an excellent job of making the best use of grant funds in reaching the widest audience.
The Nebraska Environmental Trust Public Information and Education Mini-Grant Program awards mini-grants of up to $3,000 each, to support the presentation and dissemination of information and perspectives that will stimulate enhanced environmental stewardship in any category eligible for Nebraska Environmental Trust funding. These categories are habitat, surface and ground water, waste management, air quality, and soil management. The grant expands dialogue on important current conservation topics and provides information on emerging or highly useful conservation methods. All Nebraska individuals, private organizations, and public entities are eligible to apply for these funds.
First quarter 2020 applications are due January 6th, 2020.
Grant forms and information can be found on their website, www.neacadsci.org. Click on “NAS” and then click on “Grants and Scholarships.”
 A Project By Keep Omaha Beautiful Called "Only Rain Down Our Drain."
 The Ferguson House
Ferguson House Christmas Open House and Holiday Tours
The Nebraska Environmental Trust will host a holiday open house at the historic Ferguson House on Sunday, December 8th in conjunction with the Tree Lighting Ceremony at the State Capitol.
Also open is the Thomas P. Kennard House located on the east side of the Ferguson House. The public is invited to visit and tour the 108 year-old Renaissance Revival Ferguson House from 1 to 5 p.m. There is no charge to tour the Ferguson House or the Kennard House on that day. There is limited parking behind the Ferguson House, but street parking is available along 16th and H streets.
The Ferguson House was constructed by the Cleveland architectural firm of Searles, Hirsh & Gavin as a private residence for William Henry and Myrtle Ferguson between 1909 and 1911. It is one of the finest examples of Second Renaissance Revival architecture and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Made from brick, concrete and I-beams, the house cost an estimated $38,000 and featured advanced technology such as a central vacuum system, indoor plumbing and gas and electric power.
Mr. Ferguson helped introduce winter wheat and special varieties of alfalfa to Nebraska and was co-owner of Yankee Hill Brick and Capital Beach Amusement Park, President of Beatrice Foods and owner of Woodlawn Dairy. Myrtle Ferguson resided in the house until her death in 1972.
The state of Nebraska took possession of the property from the Ferguson family then and the property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The house is a well-known landmark in Lincoln located across from the Nebraska State Capitol. The staff of the Nebraska Environmental Trust currently occupies the second floor of the Ferguson House. The first floor living and dining rooms are available to rent for meetings and events. The Ferguson House is located at 700 S 16th Street in downtown Lincoln. For more information, call 402-471-5417.
 Christmas At The Ferguson House
 Ferguson House Entryway when the family resided there.
Upcoming Events
- December 8, 2019 - Ferguson House Christmas Open House
- February 4, 2020 - 1st Quarter Board Meeting
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