Laurel Badura, wildlife biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program, found incentive funding allowing ag producer Bart Jacobson to renovate and conserve a rainwater basin on grassland that’s grazed by cattle and sheep under aggressive management. Jacobson is pleased with the results and credits Badura with arranging funding and managing the details of the partnerships, which drove the project forward.

A 21-county area of south central Nebraska is home to thousands of rainwater basins, which are identical in function to the playas of the southern plains, but formed by different natural forces. In addition, these basins hold water longer than the playas to the south, providing lush plant and invertebrate life for migratory birds on their way north in late-winter to nest. The region has been losing rainwater basins, but efforts are underway to work with landowners to guard these wetlands for bird habitat.