Meeting Held on Nemaha Wildlife Area

Taken from the Courier-Tribune

March 28, 2001

Seneca, Kansas

A proposal to build a wildlife impoundment at the former Lake Nemaha was discussed by a local group that met Friday with representatives of the Army Corps of Engineers and the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks.County Clerk Anita Heiman, who has spearheaded the Lake Nemaha Improvement Association, said the local group included representatives of the STEP Foundation and the Soil Conservation Service.Funding is in place for the project once the local match is guaranteed, Heiman said. "We have to guarantee that we're willing to do it so the project will be funded."<P>The amount of the local match is unknown until bids are solicited, she said, but estimated it will be under $40,000. It is hoped that local contractors will bid the work at less cost than the Corps estimated, lowering the local match, she said.The proposal would result in a shallow impoundment in the former lake's bed, establishing a waterfowl area. A permanent fishing area would also be built.

Heiman said restoring some form of impoundment was the first project she tackled when she entered office in 1985. Former Civilian Conservation Corps workers who built the lake and park are concerned about its fate, she said.