Nebraska: Conservation group organizing to strengthen voice

Omaha World-Herald

Published Friday  |  June 8, 2007
Conservation group organizing to strengthen voice
BY NANCY GAARDER
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2798&u_sid=2398317

A conservation group that seeks to revitalize itself and boost political support for protection of Nebraska's natural resources is reaching out to like-minded organizations.

The Nebraska League of Conservation Voters has hired its first executive director, has begun publishing voter guides and is sponsoring a networking session later this month.

The league will host a June 16 meeting to work toward a common agenda for conservation groups, said Mary Harding, executive director. The public is invited.

The event will run from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Izaak Walton League Hall in Lancaster County. For more information, contact Harding at mharding@nlcv.org, visit www.nlcv.org or call 402-560-0630.

Harding said the league's focus for now is on widening its membership base and strengthening other organizations so that conservation interests have a stronger voice in Nebraska policies.

She is the former executive director of the Nebraska Environmental Trust, one of the state's top sources of funding for habitat protection.

"This is about establishing relationships so that there's a real opportunity to succeed," she said.

"Nebraskans love their land, they love their resources. They're here in part because it's clean, wide open and abundant," she said. "There's almost unanimous agreement that everyone wants to keep it that way. But there is disagreement about how to get there."