The following is part of the Loup Lines Series (Volume 45, No. 11 - November 2024)

The turning of calendars to the November page signals different things to people. For some it marks the pending arrival of hunting seasons. For others it means getting ready for the holiday season. The changing of school sports also comes to mind, and of course there is a dreaded time change in there somewhere. At the Lower Loup NRD, the arrival of November means the beginning of our annual tree sales season.

Nebraska’s Natural Resources Districts do a lot of different things in the world of conservation. And each NRD has its own priorities decided by its locally elected Boards of Directors. Some of those things may be off the radar of many of our citizens, but the NRD tree program is one thing that we are well known for.

There are 23 NRDs in Nebraska. Altogether, since being founded in 1972, NRDs statewide have sold more than 101 million trees. Of that impressive number, the Lower Loup NRD has sold an equally impressive 12 million of those trees. Many of those seedlings were planted by our experienced technicians. On November 1st, we launched yet another tree season where we will sell, and plant, tens of thousands more trees across the District. Our tree sales season runs to April. Customers can buy trees to plant on their own, or they can opt to have our crews machine plant their trees.

This year we are offering 44 species of trees and shrubs. Some of those tree and shrub species are available as container trees or as bare root seedlings. Orders can be placed electronically through www.LLNRD.org or by using the form that will be available later this month in the LLNRD “In The Loop” quarterly newsletter that is mailed to residents of the District and landowners who own land within the NRD. Those order forms should be dropped off at or mailed to your local NRCS office.

New for the 2024-2025 tree season, the Lower Loup NRD will also sell coconut mats. The mats, made from coconut husks, are placed around young trees and attached with provided sod staples. The mats last for 3 to 5 years and prevent opportunistic vegetation from competing with the young trees – which improves seedling survivorship.  

Contact the Lower Loup NRD with questions about tree sales, cost-share, tree health, and other tree questions. Happy tree season!