The Nebraska Youth Range Camp consists of a dynamic curriculum that appeals to students with a wide array of interests including, but not limited to, rangeland management, conservation, ecology, animal science, and wildlife. With nearly 50 years to perfect and evolve this curriculum, every student, no matter what prior experience they have, will learn substantial information that will help them become more aware of Nebraska’s most prevalent land use. Rangelands cover nearly 50% of Nebraska and approximately 60% of the United States. These numbers convey the dominance of this land use, but recently there has been several political issues regarding the management of these rangelands which further emphasizes the reason it is imperative for us to educate the youth so we may enable them to become proficient and effective leaders in resource management as well as educated voters.

The students that attend this camp will be actively involved with lectures, field activities, hand-on experience, and recreational leadership and team-building activities that are all led by up to 20 of Nebraska’s most respected and dedicated leaders, teachers, and professionals from various agencies, colleges, and universities. Each student will be sent home with a binder that is filled with educational materials. Must be 14-18 years old.

Application Deadline: May 26, 2025

Registration Fee: $75.00

This camp is for youths who have completed 6th and 7th grade in the. ACE is an overnight camp at Kamp Kaleo. Campers will spend three nights and four days learning about natural resources in a hands-on environment.

Camp Core Sessions Forestry- Branch out and expand your knowledge of trees during the forestry session. Water- Jump in the North Loup River to discover macro-invertebrates and what goes on in our water systems. Range- What better place to learn about our range ecosystems than in the unique Sandhills. Soils- Sand, clay, silt, loam. Nebraska is full of different soils to explore! Wildlife- Campers will be able to learn about our state’s wildlife in a hands on atmosphere.

Application Deadline: May 23, 2025

Registration Fee: $235.00

Student Activities

8th Grade Conservation Day

The Lower Niobrara Natural Resource district held their 8th Grade Conservation Day on October 16, 2023, at the Butte Gold Course. They had students from Niobrara, Verdigre, Boyd County, Stuart, and Burke SD this year, with a total of 76 kids, 5 teachers and 13 presenters/helpers. The kids were divided into 4 groups and went around to the different sessions. They had 8 sessions covering topics like Soil Health, Biodiversity Jenga, Habitat Hopscotch, We all live in a Watershed, Careers in NRD, Niobrara Water Journey, Native Plants 101, and Kerplunk with Nitrates. The weather was perfect to spend the day outside enjoying and learning about nature.

The 8th Grade Conservation Day wouldn’t be possible without our natural resources professionals from across Nebraska who came to share their expertise with the students. The presenters came from a variety of agencies and towns, Natural Resources Conservation Services, UNL Nebraska Extension, Lower Loup NRD, Lewis and Clark NRD, BGMA coordinator, Park Ranger, Game and Parks, and the Lower Niobrara NRD staff.

Area Range Judging

The Area 5 Range Judging contest was held near Naper, NE on September 19^th, 2023. The contest had participants from 8 different schools Keya Paha, West Holt, Verdigre, Summerland, Emerson- Hubbard, Boyd County, Pierce and Stuart participating. We had 200 kids participate and 5 instructors. The contest consisted of identifying 24 plants and knowing different things about the plants, 3 Ecological sites to judge and a Ranch Map to figure AUM’s and proper grazing practices. West Holt had the winning teams in both Senior and Junior divisions.

Special thank you to the different local NRCS, Holt County Extension, and NRD employees who helped with the contest. We also would like to thank Shane and Beth Lechtenberg for letting us use their land to hold this contest.

Wonderful World of Water

The 34th annual Wonderful World of Water Festival was held September 20th at Gilman Park in Pierce. Fifteen teams of ninth and tenth grade students from 8 schools across Northeast Nebraska descended upon the park for a day of outdoor hands-on activities and a chance to compete for championship honors.

The day began with registration at Gilman Park followed by the teams competing in a track of hands-on activities focusing on water quality and other natural resources related issues. The teams were then quizzed regarding those sessions to accumulate points for the competition. Following the educational sessions, the teams were given one last chance to extend their point totals by participating in the Dripial Pursuit Trivia Game. Then while the final totals were being calculated each team was given the opportunity to participate in the Wonderful World of Water special project.

The special project was Water Rockets, which is a program taught through the Jr. Academy of Sciences. Each school was invited to build water rockets and demonstrate their knowledge of mass, velocity and engineering. The rockets were judged on distance and creativity. Several rockets were launched Wednesday with Pierce High School Team 2 first for Farthest Distance Traveled; Pope John High School Team 2 recognized for Shortest Distance Traveled; and, Wausa High School Team 1 with the Most Creative Design.

Following the presentation of the special projects, the winners of the 2023 Northeast Nebraska Wonderful World of Water were announced. The winner of Track 1 was Pierce High School Team 1 consisting of Sami Painter, Emily Endorf, Abbie Cone, Sydney Kuper and Isabelle Kuehler. The winning team from Track 2 was Pierce High School Team 2 consisting of Ann Reeker, Alyssa Kuper, Colter Anderson, Christian Nordby and Carl Vogt. Both First Place teams were awarded Wonderful World of Water T-shirts to commemorate their victories.

Schools participating in this year’s event included; Niobrara High School, Pierce High School, Elgin High School, Wausa High School, Allen High School, Laurel-Concord-Coleridge High School, Emerson-Hubbard High School and Pope John High School.

The Wonderful World of Water program would not be possible without our many natural resources professionals from across the area who volunteer their time each year to share their expertise; and, work with students who might be interested in a career related to natural resources. They come from a variety of agencies including: The Natural Resources Conservation Service; UNL Nebraska Extension; Nebraska Game and Parks; Papio-Missouri River NRD; Upper Elkhorn NRD, Lewis & Clark NRD, Lower Niobrara NRD and, Lower Elkhorn NRD. The Wonderful World of Water was sponsored this year by: the Upper Elkhorn NRD; Lower Elkhorn NRD; Lower Niobrara NRD; and, Lewis and Clark NRD.