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Nadine Bishop of Imperial, recent retiree from the NRCS, is in her favorite element—rangeland.

Nadine Bishop retires from NRCS

Nadine Bishop retired Dec. 31 from the Nebraska Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) after 40 1/2 years.
Her position at retirement was state rangeland management specialist.
Bishop attended Fort Hays State College in Hays, Kansas where she majored in biology.
“Range management was part of the course. I found I really liked it and knew right away that’s what I wanted to do,” Bishop said.
She graduated from Fort Hays with a Master’s in biology.
Her first position with NRCS was in McCook followed by several positions in other Nebraska towns before taking a position in Imperial in 1991 as a district conservationist, she said.
In 2012, Bishop became the state rangeland management specialist based out of the Imperial office.
“I pursued this career because I like being outdoors and watching how the prairie changes through different weather and conditions,” she said.
She said she also liked working with ranchers and giving them ideas on ways to improve their rangeland.
The job entailed traveling the state from spring to fall, said Bishop.
“I got to work with the first seeding under the conservation reserve program—successfully seeding cropland back to native grasses,” she said.
As the district conservationist, Bishop also enjoyed training new NRCS employees.
Bishop’s job involved providing technical advice on water developments, cross-fencing and creating grazing management plans.
“During my rangeland management position, I worked with youths, contributing knowledge of rangeland management through range judging and youth camps,” said Bishop.
Bishop and husband, Mark, have a son and daughter-in-law and one granddaughter.
Now that she is retired, she said she and Mark hope to do some traveling.
Of course that will have to fit in with her post-retirement activities, she said.
“I am a volunteer with the Nebraska Section—Society for Range Management for youth,” Bishop said.
She is also a contractor for Forest Service Agriculture Conservation Experienced Services (FS-ACES), she said.
The program offers individuals 55 and older temporary paid assignments to provide technical services for conservation-related programs and authorities carried out on National Forest Service land, she added.
The NRCS office held a virtual open house for Bishop’s retirement, she said.

 

The Imperial Republican

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Imperial, NE 69033