The Natural Resources Planning and Assistance Division of the Department of Natural Resources assists in or conducts state level planning work, provides assistance to other governmental units, provides statewide mapping and geographic information system analysis, provides a variety of technical assistance to the Director, and coordinates Departmental stream gaging efforts. The Division's duties and projects span a wide variety of topics and do not have a single discrete theme. Changing needs can also result in significant changes in many of the Division's projects and activities through time. The Division works closely with the Research and Technical Studies Division in developing information. Some of the current Division projects and duties include the following items.

PLANNING AND ASSISTANCE DIVISION ACTIVITIES

State Level Planning Studies/ Technical Assistance/ Reviews
The Planning and Assistance Division participates in a variety of planning oriented studies and conducts reviews of projects and programs. In recent years the Department's most high profile activity related to Planning has been support of the Nebraska Water Policy Task Force and work in implementing LB 962 which grew from recommendations from the Task Force. One Division staff member is now assigned to work with local Natural Resources Districts on integrated water management activities. Another staff member is helping to plan and carry out activities as part of the Platte River Recovery and Implementation Program. Separate areas on the Department's web page contain information for both the Water Policy Task Force and Implementation of LB 962.

In other Division activity the Department has been one of ten project sponsors of the Platte River Cooperative Hydrology Study, an effort to develop an understanding of the hydrological and geological conditions in the Platte Basin in Nebraska upstream of Columbus. The Division has provided support for the database management, GIS coverage and web site portion of the project and has housed a database management specialist hired by the study sponsors. The study was partially funded by the Nebraska Environmental Trust. The effort should help Nebraska meet its obligations under the Platte River Cooperative Agreement and enable NRDs and others to provide appropriate analysis, regulation and management. The major part of the effort concluded in early 2005 but database maintenance and improvement and some other activities are expected to continue into the future.

The Division continues to provide staff support to the Nebraska Carbon Sequestration Advisory Committee. Finally, Division staff provide reviews on a variety of natural resources projects and currently chair the economic and technical committees for the Nebraska Resources Development Fund. Division staff also work on agency database maintenance.

Mapping/Geographic Information System Activities
These activities are generally cooperative efforts with other divisions or agencies and include the national hydrographic dataset, digital mapping of soils, floodprone area mapping, assistance in water rights mapping, and other mapping or geographic system analysis.

The Division led state efforts in compiling data for the national hydrographic dataset digital mapping project and is now responsible for stewardship of the dataset. The 1:24,000 National Hydrographic Dataset (NHD) presents water features at the same scale as other state digital mapping packages and provides the basis for enhancing the efficiency of a wide range of potential water analysis and administration activities. These include uses such as surface water quality assessment, bridge design, and water rights administration. Work on the National Hydrographic Dataset is being carried out on a cooperative basis with the U.S. Geological Survey and completion of the dataset occurred in 2007. The Nebraska GIS Steering Committee has prioritized this database and it is one of the select few databases that provide the underlying framework for coordinated GIS development and widespread data sharing and integration. The Division’s stewardship activities will include improvement of the dataset and efforts to help utilize it more effectively. Some of those uses involve in-agency efforts such as surface water modeling, water administration, and floodplain mapping activity.

Interstate Issues/ Technical Assistance to the Director
Planning and Assistance Division staff provide a variety of technical assistance to the Director on compact and decree administration and interstate issues. A Division staff member serves on the engineering committee for the Blue River Compact and the technical committee for the Missouri River Basin Association. Another Division staff member is developing procedures for monitoring compliance with the North Platte Decree and the recent settlement with Wyoming. Two Division members have provided considerable direct assistance on Water Administration Division Duties. In addition a Division member has helped administer grants with the Bureau of Reclamation and the Nebraska Environmental Trust.

Stream Gaging
DNR Stream Gaging
The Department of Natural Resources operates 160 gages on rivers, streams, canals, reservoirs, and returns in Nebraska. This includes 61 continuous full year and 5 partial year stations on rivers and streams, 1 reservoir, 90 canal, and 3 return flow stations. These stations, along with an additional 53 reservoir and canal records from other agencies are published in the Department's Hydrographic Report and entered into the Data Bank. Although a Planning and Assistance Division staff member is responsible for program coordination and publication of the hydrographic report; operation of the stream gaging system is a responsibility of DNR's field offices.