Partnership with Nebraska Forest Service provides additional resources
The Upper Big Blue Natural Resources District is pleased to welcome Raymond Asamoah to the team as the new conservation forester for the district. While the NRD has had foresters on staff before, Asamoah’s position is unique, as he is a joint NRD and Nebraska Forest Service employee. His responsibilities and resources will be expanded from that of previous NRD foresters to include greater emphasis on urban tree canopy improvement.
The Upper Big Blue NRD serves all or part of nine counties in south central Nebraska. Since 1972, the Upper Big Blue NRD has planted or sold more than a million trees in the district area. Each year, the district provides low-cost tree seedlings through the Conservation Tree Program. These trees are sold directly to individuals for hand planting, or landowners and communities may choose to work with the NRD for machine planting for windbreak installation, renovation, or extension. NRD staff also work with individuals and communities on larger scale projects including wildlife areas and parks. Trees are offered for sale from November to March and are delivered or planted in April and May. In the current tree season, the NRD sold a total of 18,350 trees, about one-quarter of which were machine planted by district staff.
The NRD also offers a Storm Damaged Tree program that helps landowners and communities recover after severe weather, as well as Community Tree Resource programs to improve public lands.
As the conservation forester for the district, Asamoah will be a liaison between the landowners or community leaders and the NRD, working closely with the public to design and install tree plantings and complete paperwork necessary for funding opportunities. His position will involve traveling across the district to meet with individuals, view tree planting sites, and design and install tree plantings. This is work he is well suited for, as Asamoah holds an undergraduate degree in forest resource technology from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, as well as a master’s degree in environmental geoscience from Ball State University in Indiana. In his graduate work, he specialized in the relationship between green spaces, air quality, and public health. His previous experience includes working for the Forest Commission in Ghana as well as serving in several leadership roles with the Sarius Palmetum Management Company and Botanical Garden in Nigeria, which creates greenspaces and landscaping in Abuja, the capital city.
Interested in a tree planting project for your acreage or community? You can reach Asamoah at trees@upperbigblue.org or call the office at 402-362-6601.
