Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

No minutes due to virtual nature of interactions.

This project involved two phases of research. 1) An archival analysis of books, reports, and media was implemented to document the role of key institutional actors in promoting irrigated crop production and soil and water conservation to improve the efficiency of these systems. 2) A series of guided discussions in the Republican River Basin of Nebraska was used to document how key stakeholders in affected communities perceived changes in information flows now and in the past. Phase 1: With research assistants, the research team analyzed both source documents such as Extension Bulletins dating to the 1940s to document how the activities and information that key land grant universities and colleges engaged in to improve farm productivity from 1940-2010. Researchers also summarized secondary documents pertaining to the development of irrigation and soil and water conservation activities in Nebraska and Kansas. The results are currently being developed into a research paper summarizing the development irrigated agriculture in the Republican River Basin. A preliminary version of this paper was presented at the International Water History Association Annual Conference in June 2013. The paper is being revised and finalized for publication. The researchers also drew on integrated research findings from other modeling projects including the NSF funded: Coupling Hydrologic, Economic, and Social Network Models to Improve Understanding of Surface Water-Groundwater Interactions for Protection of Instream Flows.” National Science Foundation (NSF#0709735). The model was combined with the historical documentation to summarize the integration of biophysical, economic and social factors in the emergence of current water conflict between Nebraska and Kansas and in the development of potential solutions to this conflict. Two papers are currently under development that explore the role of social networks and local culture in the development of sustainable solutions to long-term water management issues in this basin. In Phase II: The National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC) (with PI, Stephen Gasteyer and Graduate Student) travelled to the Republican River Basin July 31 and August 1, 2013 for two NCRCRD funded group interview forums that sought information regarding water information flows and issues. The first listening session was in Oberlin, KS on July 31 and the second session was in Alma, NE on August 1. The NDMC organized the sessions in conjunction with the Republican River Riparian Restoration Partnership’s (RRRRP) board meetings. Both sessions focused on obtaining feedback related to water management and sustainability in the Republican River Basin. These interviews built on previously established relationships to involve key informants and stakeholders in the basin. There were a total of 20 participants at these group interviews whose demographic backgrounds represented producers, research and land conservation employees, natural resource district managers, community members in economic development, and state and federal water regulatory management positions. There were also two Nebraska State senators who participated in the Alma, NE feedback session. Dr. Stephen Gasteyer opened each session with an overview of previous research and then explained the background and purpose of the current small grant research. The NDMC worked with Dr. Gasteyer (and his graduate student) to develop the sessions’ public participation plan based on the specific questions that the team of researchers developed ahead of time.

Gasteyer, S., and E. Benveniste. under review. Metering rainmakers: Hydropolitics,models, and the curtailing of overuse of water in southwestern US Great Plains. Rural Sociology. Shifting Intermediaries: Tracing the Land Grant Role in Water Management in Nebraska (1/29/14)S. Gasteyer (Michigan State University) & N. Wall (University of Nebraska-Lincoln) Recorded Presentation PowerPoint(pptx)