Trees and Shrubs

Benefits of Planting

Trees and shrubs provide important benefits such as protecting homes and livestock from wind and snow, helping to reduce heating and cooling costs, preventing soil erosion, and providing wildlife habitat. The Upper Loup NRD offers tree program services including planning, planting, weed barrier installation and drip irrigation.

A well-planned drip irrigation system can have a tremendous impact on a young tree’s survival and growth. The systems improve tree survival rate by providing water to the seedlings during the hot, dry summer. The systems also allow for more efficient watering of seedlings by dripping the water where and when the plants need it, with little or no evaporation and virtually no runoff. The cost-share for drip irrigation systems is only provided for those placed on electric wells.

Machine Planting

The ULNRD provides machine planting services for plantings of 200 or more trees and/or shrubs. The NRD and NRCS will help you develop a tree planting plan free of charge. This includes determining how many trees/shrubs you will need, the best location and what species fits your specific needs. Species inventory is subject to change.

Thanks to the gracious donation from Executive Travel, we will be giving away 100 trees with every purchase of 200 or more trees for machine plans for the 2024 spring planting season.

Hand Planting

Hand plant trees are mainly purchased for small windbreaks, ornamental purposes or as replants. The NRD does not assist with the planting of these trees. They are made available for pickup at the ULNRD office in Thedford.

Thanks to the gracious donation from Executive Travel, we will be giving away 50 trees with every purchase of 100 hand plant trees for the 2024 spring planting season.

For more information on various species please visit Conservation Trees for Nebraska