Three longtime champions of natural resources management were announced as new inductees in the Nebraska Natural Resources Districts Hall of Fame during a press conference at Husker Harvest Days. This year's honorees are Dean Rasmussen, Hastings, who joins the Hall of Fame as a former NRD board member; Ron Fleecs, Beatrice, who served as an NRD employee; and Gayle Starr, Lincoln, who worked as a longtime supporter of NRD efforts. The announcement was made Sept. 13 in front of the natural resources building on the HHD show site.

Rasmussen, who was nominated by the Lower Loup NRD, has been an elected LLNRD board member since 1972, when the NRD system was created. He also served as a board member of the Nebraska Association of NRDs and as a representative on the Loup Basin Resources Conservation and Development Council. He was named NRD director of the year by NARD in 2004.

Fleecs was nominated by the Lower Big Blue NRD. He started his conservation work in 1959, working as a watershed specialist for the Natural Resources Commission. Fleecs was instrumental in the development of the NRD system and served as the first NRD manager for LBB NRD, a position he held until retirement in 2004. He has overseen the construction of more watershed projects than any other individual in the NRD system, including 67 flood-damaged reduction dams, five grade-stabilization structures, seven county NRD road structures, over 3,300 miles of terraces, and more than 6,000 miles of grass waterways.

Starr was nominated for the honor by the Lower Big Blue NRD. As a supporter of NRDs from outside the system, Starr worked as an agriculture economist for the Nebraska Soil and Water Conservation Commission in 1965, and eventually joined the staff of what became the Nebraska Natural Resources Commission. He worked in that position with the governor's office and Nebraska Legislature in planning and developing the NRD system. He eventually served as division head for the agency, retiring in 2006.

The official Hall of Fame awards are distributed annually during the NRD annual conference held each fall.

Learn more at nrdnet.org.