50 States for Great Plains Wildlife fundraiser begins!

If you follow us on Facebook or receive our email blasts, you've already heard about our ambitious new fundraising endeavor-- gathering 100 donations from each of the 50 states in support of Nebraska's wildlife!

If you're here, you already know that wild animals deserve our help.  People dominate the landscape, and our actions reduce the amount of habitat left for wild animals.  Your donation will help us in our work to ensure that wild animals are given the help they need to survive in this changing world, and to help us preserve wild spaces for generations to come.

Without your generosity, the animals we receive simply won’t get their chance to return to the wild where they belong.

Why Nebraska? 

Nebraska is a great state and the people here are generous.  Unfortunately though, it is often a challenge to obtain funding for, and bring awareness to, environmental issues.  NWRI is on the cutting edge of this effort in the state and need your assistance continue these efforts.  We need the help of our friends across the United States to sustain the work we do here every day.  

The biodiversity supported on the Great Plains is immense and unique, providing vital habitat for migratory birds along the Central Flyway Corridor that spans the state of Nebraska. The destruction of prairies and wetlands due to urbanization, agricultural conversion, and inadequate management is compromising habitat for thousands of mammals, migrating songbirds, wading birds, and waterfowl annually. This reality is made explicit in the report, "The American Prairie: Going, Going, Gone?" which states there has been a 99 percent decline in tall-grass prairie and a 68 percent decline in mixed-grass prairie from historic levels, making prairie grasslands North America's most endangered ecosystem. Despite this report and others, investments for the protection of prairie ecosystems continue to pale in comparison to coastal ecosystems.

The wild birds you enjoy in your backyard – regardless of where you are in the U.S. – may have made their way through Nebraska at some point.  Nebraska is one of the states on the Central Migratory Flyway in the United States.  We host millions of migratory birds each spring and fall as they make their way north or south – and many of those birds come into our care.

Why Support NWRI in particular? 
The demand for our services in Nebraska outstrips our ability to meet it.  With more funding, we can meet the needs of the people and wildlife in Nebraska.

NWRI believes in giving back to our community.  Our volunteers and board members work to make a difference every day in our community through our work with wildlife, students, and even with other non-profit organizations. 

Not only do we believe in engaging in community service ourselves, we work to teach students that their actions can make a difference in their communities as well, and provide them with projects to improve the world around them.

NWRI cares for more wild animals each year than any organization in the state, and emphasizes professional training for its team leaders, volunteers and staff.  We hold membership in the International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council (IWRC) and the National Wildlife Rehabilitators’ Association (NWRA), and most of our educators are also certified Nebraska Master Naturalists.

Wild animals in rehabilitation come to us because of the actions of people, accidental and intentional – not because of nature. Only YOU can help us level the playing field and restore some bit of balance to our shared world. 

Please donate now! Visit our fundraising page and help us achieve our goal of 100 $25 donations from each of the 50 states. The wildlife of the Great Plains is counting on you!