Current Projects - Republican Riparian Project

Weed control within the Republican River channel began last week.  Two separate contracts were awarded to chemically treat the invasive plant species that are choking the ability of the river to flow unobstructed.  Skycopters from Ulysses, Kansas was awarded the aerial bid and Chem Trol out of Omaha, Nebraska was awarded the ground application contract.  The primary vegetation being targeted is Saltcedar, Phragmities, Willows, and certain areas of reed canary grass.

In addition, the TVWMA hired Merle Illian of Red Cloud as the project coordinator. Illian has been involved with the project since its inception handling the grant and technical aspects of the project.  Also, the TVWMA committee purchased an eight wheel, all terrain vehicle which will be used by County Weed Superintendents for river maintenance after the main project is completed.

The 772,500 grant for this project came about from funding from LB 701 which was introduced by Senator Tom Carlson.  This grant runs through June, 2008. Additional funds include 20,000 from Nebraska Department of Agriculture, and 75,000 from BASF.

The area that the funds are being targeted for are Harlan County Dam to the Kansas-Neb state line just south of Superior.  This is a 78 mile stretch of river which consists of 1500 acres of vegetative weed control within the river channel.  In addition, their will be approximately 1000 acres above Harlan County Dam to be treated.

One huge effort that was required before weed control could commence was obtaining landowner agreement by those that adjoin the river.  There were 180 landowners to be contacted, and all but five joined together and signed easements for this united effort to address our river problem.

The next order of business for TVWMA will be advertisement of bids for mechanical work to be done in the river channel.

Stay tuned for more information as we proceed with this project

For more information about what Projects we have done in the past or our project history, please visit hour history page by clicking here.