The Bazile Groundwater Management Area (BGMA) will be hosting a three-part series of virtual one-hour webinars via Zoom. The webinars will take place on Friday, Feb. 19, Feb. 26 and March 5 over the lunch hour, beginning at 12 p.m. CST. This webinar series is a continuation of the winter informational meetings the BGMA has hosted in-person in years past. The BGMA is co-sponsoring the webinar series with Nebraska Extension with financial support through a Nebraska Environmental Trust (NET) grant.

The BGMA was formed to address the issue of rising nitrate in the groundwater and covers parts of Antelope, Knox and Pierce counties in Northeast Nebraska. The BGMA is a collaborative partnership between the Lewis and Clark Natural Resources District, the Lower Elkhorn Natural Resources District, the Lower Niobrara Natural Resources District, the Upper Elkhorn Natural Resources District, the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy, Nebraska Extension and other partnering organizations.

Each week the webinar will have a unique focus and will include a short update on progress and changes on one of the three BGMA demonstration sites funded through a NET grant. The first webinar Feb. 19 will feature Dr. Rattan Lal of Ohio State University, speaking on soil quality management. The second on Feb. 26 will feature Dr. Salvador Ramirez II, speaking on the biological and chemical properties of the soil in a diversified crop rotation, and the third on March 5 will feature Dr. Troy Gilmore, speaking about his recent groundwater hydrology work on nitrate in the Bazile Creek.

Nitrogen Certification Credits will be available for all four Natural Resources Districts in the BGMA. A Certified Crop Adviser board-approved continuing education unit (CEU) has been applied for, for those who participate in the webinars. Information about how to apply to receive CCA credit will be provided on the BGMA website.

The webinars will be free to attend but we ask that you register online. You can also register to watch the recorded webinars if you are unable to attend the live webinar.