Local public service roles are generally not glamorous. They come with their share of headaches, including late nights, grumpy constituents, and lots of reading and meetings to understand the issues. The reward for all the hours and labor is hard to quantify. For members of the board of directors of a natural resources district, the return on their investment isn’t measured in inches, pounds, or dollars; how do you place a value on the laughter of children at a new recreation area playground, the calls of birds at a restored wetland, or the sight of vibrant, green cover crops growing in the spring?

Four such public servants are reflecting on their time in office and all they have accomplished as they depart the board of directors of the Upper Big Blue Natural Resources District. Larry Moore, Linda Luebbe, Ronda Rich, and David Robotham concluded their service on the board of directors in December. Their contributions were recognized with a reception on Tuesday, December 13.

“The important work of stewarding our soil and water resources only happens with the effective leadership and collaboration of our board of directors,” said David Eigenberg, general manager of the Upper Big Blue NRD. “We are grateful for each of these individuals who have provided many years of guidance on the board to serve the people of our district.”
 

Larry Moore of Ulysses has lived in Nebraska his entire life and has been a farmer almost as long, managing row crops and livestock with an eye toward conservation. His hobbies and interests include firearms, hunting, trap shooting, and old tractors. He has served on the board of the NRD since 1975 because of his deep interest in soil and wildlife conservation and management. In 2022, Moore was recognized by the Nebraska Association of Natural Resources with the Director of the Year award. Moore says that he has spent more than half of his life serving on the NRD board because if something goes wrong and his grandchildren ask, “Why didn’t you do something about it?” he wanted to be able to say, “I gave it my best shot!” Moore has served in many additional leadership roles while on the NRD board, including most recently being a member of the Blue River Compact Administration.

Linda Luebbe of Beaver Crossing has served on the board of directors of the Upper Big Blue NRD since 1997. Professionally, she worked as a nurse for 50 years in addition to running the family farm and spraying businesses. She has worked as a surgical nurse, office nurse, director of nursing at an assisted living facility, staff nurse at a nursing home, and finally as a school nurse for the Seward School District for 12 years. Summers were spent as a field nurse for Monsanto, monitoring detasslers. In retirement, Linda continued to work as a substitute school nurse for Centennial and Seward schools. She enjoys walking and biking, quilting, gardening, and travel.

Luebbe has served on the NRD board of directors since 1997. “My focus on this board has been to help protect the ground water quality and quantity so that my grandchildren will have plenty of good, safe water for their use,” she says.  In addition to her service as a director for the Upper Big Blue NRD, Linda Luebbe also served as the president of the national Groundwater Management Districts Association in 2020-2021.    

Ronda Rich of York has served on the board of the NRD since 2011. Her focus throughout her tenure on the board has been water quality and addressing nitrogen contamination in the drinking water of rural Nebraskans. For 30 years, Ronda and her husband Lynn owned and operated an auto parts store in York and worked the family farm. Later she worked for several years for Cornerstone Bank. Her hobbies include quilting, sewing, gardening, and preserving. Ronda and Lynn have restored 100+ acres of farmland to prairie, creating a wildlife haven on their property through the Conservation Reserve Program that includes native plants and grasses, as well as over a thousand trees. 

The service to the people of the district has been worthwhile to Rich. “Our natural resources are very important to all people. I feel the need to help preserve and protect them,” she said. “Clean and plentiful water does not just happen. We all need to come up with solutions for our current problem of high nitrogen in our water.”

David Robotham of York is a service technician at Truck Center Companies. His interests include working his pastureland in Seward County, as well as attending car shows and swap meets. He has served on the board since 2014. In that time, Robotham said he has learned much about water management and NRD programs through regular meeting attendance as well as many workshops, conferences, and tours. “NRDs are more than just water conservation,” he said, noting that he wished more people understood the important work of Nebraska’s 23 natural resources districts. “Each NRD has many more projects and programs to offer.”