Imperial Republican

    One need look no further than the Omaha World-Herald to see that the powers that be in Eastern Nebraska are seeking to dictate how water issues are handled in the Republican Basin.
     The writers of Sunday's lead editorial in the World-Herald said the CREP and EQIP programs will get Nebraska on the "right road" to solving water problems in the state.
     Former Congressman Tom Osborne championed the CREP program, which removes irrigated ground from production for 10-15 years. In the interim, the ground is planted back to a natural grass habitat.
     Under the EQIP program, farmers are paid up to $675 per acre to permanently retire irrigation with the added benefit of being able to continue to farm the ground as dryland.
     What the World-Herald writers fail to see is the negative impact these programs have on rural communities dependent on the ag economy.
     With ground in retirement, no longer does the seed dealer sell seed, nor the fertilizer dealer sell fertilizer, nor the service station sell diesel, nor the pivot dealer sell parts, let alone new pivots . . . and the list goes on and on.
     Gone are those dollars that roll over in a community, supporting other businesses, schools, hospitals, local infrastructure and job creation.
     And while Osborne said this income can be replaced through agri-tourism, such as hunting preserves, I don't think he fully understands how many guns it would take to replace all the income lost as a result of these programs.
     What few people in this state realize is that agriculture is Nebraska's No. 1 industry because of irrigation! It is the lifeblood that makes this state tick.
     On this week's opinion page are two very relevant letters that affect each and every one of us. Dan Smith, manager of the Middle Republican NRD, explains the background of why the Republican Basin finds itself in the midst of a battle for survival.
     Steve Smith of Imperial says people in the Republican Basin must get their story heard and urges each of us to get involved.
     I'm urging you to get involved as well. Each of us needs to become a 'water lobbyist.'
     So many other organizations are out there working against what people in the Republican Basin are seeking to accomplish. If we don't tout our own story, no one will. People in power, such as our state senators, need to be educated about the impact that a drastic reduction in the proposed allocations for quick response wells would have on our local economies.
     Newly-elected Senator Mark Christensen fears that if nothing is done to adequately address the water issues in the basin, and soon, he won't have much of a district left to represent.
     Smith said the general sentiment in Lincoln is that we have over-developed and it's our fault and our problem. The only way to change that kind of thinking is to educate those who are making the decisions.
     A writer from Grand Island in the World-Herald's Public Pulse Tuesday said farmers shouldn't be getting paid to retire irrigated ground. Instead, the writer suggested farmers should be paying a fee to use the water.
     He likened paying farmers to not irrigate to a "would-be-thief demanding money from a victim who has locked his home to avoid a robbery." Do you suppose that in some way or another, this writer's job is tied to agriculture? Regardless, this is more evidence of the ill sentiment and ignorance that exists towards the water issues we face in the Republican Basin.
     Regardless of where you work in Imperial, your livelihood is directly tied to agriculture. As a result, you too need to become involved in whatever way possible to make sure our story gets told. Others realize that our farmers are not water thieves like so many want to portray them as.
     Your challenge is to become informed and take the lead as a 'water lobbyist.