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Native Prairie potentially to be damaged

The purpose of this e-mail is to advise those of you who may wish
to take some action about the status of the road-widening that may
have a significant impact on the native Stolley Prairie (168th 1/2 mile north
of Dodge in Omaha, Nebraska).  On June 8th at 9:00 am the Douglas County 
Board will hold a public forum to explain why they may impact Stolley 
Prairie.  Please if you can't attend write letters urging the county to avoid 
Stolley Prairie.  The addresses of the Douglas County Commissioners if below.

Thank you,
Susanne Hickey
402 561-9422

A quick summary.  The 24 acre Stolley prairie was acquired by the City of 
Omaha around
1996 to be incorporated in the Park that will be established there. 
The intent is to manage the prairie so as to maintain its historic
appearance.  Some time in 1997 or 1998, apparently without advising
anyone outside the City, the city gave the Douglas County (via. the
County Engineer's office) an easement that would allow them to
widen 168th into the prairie.  That appears to be a done deal.
Present plans are to widen 168th Street, first to three lanes and
later to four lanes.  Stakes placed in the prairie along the west
side of 168th Street indicate the extent of both the three- and the
four-lane impact.  Because of the slope, every foot of road-
widening puts a substantially greater portion of the prairie under
roadside fill, not to mention the impact of the construction
equipment driving on the site.  All of this will have a significant
impact on the already small remnant of an even smaller historic,
native ecosystem.  Since the contract to widen the road has not yet
been let, at least not that I can determine, there is still time to
at least give our opinion to the Douglas County Board.

It is important to note that the Board may be unaware of the impact
of their project on such a locally rare environmental resource
since only the County Engineer has been involved in all aspects of
the effect of the widening.  Thus, for those wishing to do
something, a letter to the Chair of the Board (see list below) or
a personal contact with any member of the board, could be most
useful.  The basic idea would be to encourage them to review the
road alignment with the idea of moving the eastern edge (i.e. that
portion along Stolley Prairie) as far to the west as possible, even
if it means bending the road a bit, which it most certainly will.
I understand that The City of Omaha acquired some additional
easement on the west side of 168th (across the street from Stolley
Prairie) which may help in this adjustment.  The city does not
appear to have taken an active stand in protecting the prairie, as
suggested by their providing the easement to widen the road into
the prairie.  Thus, I believe that only a calm and logical grass-
roots effort is likely to have any impact.  I believe that the best
approach at this time is to advise the Douglas County Board about
our concerns about the prairie and suggest a couple of possible
solutions.   As I see it, the message should be that, unlike a road, house, 
or human-construct, this (and other) native prairies are irreplaceable.  
Thus, for
every foot that the road can be shifted to the west, several feet
of irreplaceable native prairie will be preserved.  A second part
of that message would be the concern that equipment, heavy or
otherwise, would have should anyone consider the prairie to be a
road or a staging area for construction.

Below I have listed the Douglas County Board members. 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
DOUGLAS COUNTY COMMISSIONERS:

Chair:     Carol McBride Pirsch, 4223 Aurora Dr., Omaha 68134
           (District 5).  571-0989.  e-mail:
           cpirsch@co.douglas.ne.us

Vice-Chair:     Mary Ann Borgeson, 12503 Anne St., Omaha 68137
                (District 6).  895-2227.  mborgeso@co.douglas.ne.us

Kathleen McCallister, 3027 S. 49th Ave., Omaha 68106 (District 2).
553-7383.  mcallister@co.douglas.ne.us

Clare Duda, 13031 N. River Dr., Omaha 68112 (District 7).  451-
2717.  cduda@co.douglas.ne.us

Kyle Hutchings, 1734 S. 139th St., Omaha 68144  (District 4).  330-
7639.  khutchin@co.douglas.ne.us

Carole Woods Harris, 5404 Ellison Ave., Omaha 68104 (District 3).
charris@co.douglas.ne.us

Mike Boyle, 420 South 11th, Omaha 68102 (District 1).  342-6005.
mboyle@co.douglas.ne.us

The Douglas County Chief Administrative Officer is Kathleen Kelley
kkelley@co.douglas.ne.us

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