With support from the Richard King Mellon Foundation and local conservation partners, the Fund has safeguarded more than 4,000 acres across Nebraska, protecting the fertile soils and heritage areas that define America’s heartland.

Current Projects

Missouri River Recovery Program

For many of us whose water comes from America’s rivers, what happens “upstream” is critical. It determines the quality of our water and how much water we have now and in the future. For many Midwest residents, “upstream” is the Missouri River in Nebraska. The nation’s longest, it travels over 2,300 miles from Montana to join the Mississippi River near St. Louis.

The Missouri River is not just important for people. Ecologically, the river’s non-vegetated sandbars provide nesting habitat for the endangered least tern and threatened piping plover shorebirds, and backwater sloughs allow the endangered pallid sturgeon to spawn.

We have joined forces with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as part of the Missouri River Recovery Program. Learn more about our work with this program >>

Past Projects

Missouri River & Ponca State Park

We assisted The Richard King Mellon Foundation in acquiring 400 acres along the Missouri River to preserve an important segment of the Lewis and Clark Historic Trail. This gift, an addition to Ponca State Park, includes more than a mile of frontage on the river and bluffs containing upland game and expansive vistas of the Missouri River Valley. The addition secures important waterfowl habitat and invites canoeists and anglers.