Nebraskaland Magazine
LINCOLN – A total of $50,000 is available to landowners of the Pine Ridge and Oglala Grasslands regions of the Nebraska Panhandle for the installation of wildlife-friendly fence on their properties.
The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission will award up to $1,000 per mile to landowners on a first-come, first-served basis. With a signed contract prior to fence construction, landowners will receive funds to help build fences that both border other properties and those within their property’s boundaries. All projects must be completed by Oct. 31.
A wildlife-friendly fence design serves its purpose for livestock while allowing wild animals to travel over or under the fence with minimal chance of getting caught. To be eligible for the program, boundary fences must be no higher than 42 inches and consist of no more than four wires. Interior fences must have no more than three wires at a maximum height of 38 inches. Both interior and boundary fences require a smooth bottom wire 16 inches from the ground and 12 inches between the top two wires.
The grant is funded from the Pittman-Robertson Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act, the sportsmen-supported 1937 legislation that created an excise tax on sporting goods to provide funding to states for wildlife management, along with dollars from hunting permits.
Interested landowners may contact Game and Parks’ Shelley Steffl at 308-432-6183 or shelley.steffl@nebraska.gov.
