Heroes of Conservation: 2008 Winner

Hod Kosman, The Public-Lands Protector
Bank President , Scottsbluff, Neb.

When his friend Clive Ostenberg died in 1989, bequeathing a large sum of money to the Nature Conservancy and Ducks Unlimited, Hod Kosman wanted to make sure that money enhanced the land Ostenberg hunted. He helped form Platte River Basin Environments and saved a 600-acre wetland. Since then, the group has protected and restored nearly 40,000 acres of lands in western Nebraska.

Coming from western Nebraska, it's easy to take things like waterfowl and big game for granted. I was always in organizations like Ducks Unlimited or Pheasants Forever, but I was never actively in the job of conservation.
When Clive left that money, we could have just let them use it as they wanted, but we wanted that money here for Clive. We already had contacts at Ducks Unlimited, and at the Nature Conservancy, where I was a charter member of Nebraska's chapter. They would happily let us keep the money local, they said, as long as we found projects that fit within their scopes. So we had to organize, use good science, and work with landowners to do biological assessments. We surveyed the region to identify lands that were significant. From there, we began working with state and federal agencies, scientists, the type of people it takes to convince the landowners and donors that we had a worthy cause. That part was a concerted effort; the rest of it has really just been a calling.

Since that first project, we've assessed and surveyed more acres than we'll ever be able to buy, or lease, or get easements on. We're pretty well planned out. Now it's a matter of getting it done. In 2001, we were able to get some bighorn sheep habitat, and we have around 250 in our area. Our elk have been reestablished to the point that we have an active hunting season, and we just had a moose wander in. This land is an important waterfowl migration area, too. It's not just about saving this land-our motto is "What we do is forever, and forever is a long time."

Thousands and thousands of acres and millions of dollars later, we know it takes the efforts of individuals to save these resources.

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