Lower Loup Natural Resources District

Lower Loup Natural Resources District, a Nebraska state government entity, receives federal grant funding as a prime recipient to deliver watershed management, flood mitigation, irrigation water conservation, and groundwater monitoring services to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation, and related federal water-resource agencies. LLNRD operates exclusively as a grant recipient—not a federal contractor—and does not hold any federal contract vehicles or prime contract awards. The district has served five distinct federal customer agencies across 26 awards since 2000, with 88% positioned as prime recipient grants and 12% as sub-recipient awards under state-agency prime grants.

LLNRD's recent capability footprint centers on water resource conservation and flood protection infrastructure. A $1.841 million Cooperative Agreement awarded May 8, 2026, by NRCS under the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention program (CFDA 10.904) funds design and implementation of flood protection measures in the Upper Mud Creek Watershed, Custer County, Nebraska, with completion by June 30, 2028. A $704,457 Project Grant from the Bureau of Reclamation's WaterSMART program (CFDA 15.507), awarded December 18, 2024, supports installation of 200 irrigation flow meters and two solar-powered weather stations across LLNRD's service area to reduce inefficient groundwater pumping by an estimated 207 acre-feet annually. A Cooperative Agreement awarded August 1, 2023, funded LLNRD's participation in the National Ground-Water Monitoring Network, requiring the district to drill three monitoring wells at two locations and equip them with pressure transducers while managing subrecipient contracting for well-drilling services.

Customer concentration is pronounced. The Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service accounts for 12 awards, and the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation accounts for 9 awards, together covering 96% of recent awards. FEMA Financial Assistance Awards, the Farm Service Agency, and the USGS Office of Acquisitions and Grants round out the customer set. Activity has remained modest and flat—two to three awards per year over the past five years—with only one award reaching completion within the next twenty-four months, limiting near-term recompete exposure. LLNRD also acts as a sub-recipient under the Department of Military Nebraska on two phases of the Sargent Flood Resiliency Project (awarded November 2023 and April 2024). The district's federal footprint reflects a specialized regional water-resource conservation and flood-mitigation focus tied to central Nebraska's groundwater and watershed management priorities.