(LINCOLN JOURNAL STAR) The Lincoln Journal Star reports, "Old battle lines surfaced Thursday over a bill that would make it easier to protect fish, wildlife and recreation on Nebraska's rivers. Wildlife supporters rallied behind the bill (LB1025), saying it could help protect the Niobrara River as well as other streams. Agricultural groups oppose what they see as a barrier to more irrigation and economic development in the state's river basins, especially the Niobrara. The Legislature's Natural Resources Committee heard testimony on the bill Thursday. Lincoln Sen. Bill Avery, the bill's sponsor, said it would streamline the process used by the Department of Natural Resources to grant instream flow water rights, which keep water within a river's banks for fish, wildlife and recreation. Only the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and the state's natural resources districts may hold an instream flow right. 'If you don't have water in the stream, you don't have a stream,' Avery said."
Read the article here.
Read the text of LB 1025 here.
