Grow partnerships, preserve prairie Nebraska is 97 percent privately owned, so farmers and ranchers are the primary stewards of our prairies. Today we are watching our prairies transition to cedar forests because encroaching trees are uncontrolled. Development and land-use conversion continue to fragment our prairies. Many Nebraskans have a strong connection to the land, and a desire to improve practices to preserve it. However, landowners face challenges such as thin profit margins, declining rural populations, and increasing (if sometimes ill-informed) social scrutiny of agricultural production processes.
To date, Elevate Nebraska has raised $31 million for capital expansion, conservation, and education.
At the center of it all We continually seek to increase these centers’ accessibility to the public, because we know that people first must learn more about their environment before they are motivated to care for it. These investments will touch everything—from education to working lands, from science-based programming to operations—that Audubon Nebraska does and can achieve at our centers and beyond.
Empower people, protect places To solve our greatest environmental challenges, we need to educate the next generation about the beauty and importance of natural places and empower them to steward and protect ecosystems in the future. Through our education programs, we provide opportunities for young people to experience nature firsthand. To get their hands dirty working in the soil. To wander through native tallgrass prairie or leap into the Platte River, no matter its temperature. To learn about nature by being in nature.
"Rowe is a lifesaver for the Sandhill Crane–and Whooping Cranes."
"The diversity of wildflowers and grasses found on Audubon's land proves that good stewardship is worth every penny."
“Every year, I experience a profound sense of wonder. You can't parse wonder. It's an absolute state."