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Homestead Conservation and Trails Association (HCTA)

Category: Environment/Animals


This Year's Project: Water at Blue Springs trailhead


About Our Organization

HCTA was formed in October 2000 and is now a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation. The purpose is to advocate and support a network of trails in Gage County and throughout the State of Nebraska. HCTA supported the 2002 purchase of the Union Pacific railroad right of way by raising money for the purchase and maintenance of the trail. HCTA also provided the area education to the trail use benefits. HCTA is the trail manager/operator of the Ponca “Chief Standing Bear Trail” through an agreement signed on July 26, 2015 with the Nebraska Trails Foundation, Inc. and the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska. The trail owner is the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska. This tract of approximately 230 acres is private property and opens as a recreational trail. HCTA’s volunteer board of Directors includes two members from the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska, two from the Nebraska Trails Foundation Inc. and the balance of directors from Gage County.



Current Project: Water at Blue Springs trailhead




(the photos are showing the drilling attempt at the trailhead site, April 2024)

 

Water is used to more effectively clean the restroom, to provide a connection for the drinking fountain for visitor use, and to provide irrigation during dry periods for the pollinator garden and the trees that volunteers have planted at the trailhead. The water source at the Blue Springs trailhead was an approximately 20 foot deep hand dug well that initially served the purpose. It has since went dry. An attempt to replace it with a deeper well at the trailhead was unsuccessful. Two test holes were drilled; one at 30 feet near the current wellhead and one at 90 feet in a different location at the trailhead. Both test holes came up dry. To get safe, potable water to this site will require tens of thousands of dollars to connect to rural water or the City of Blue Springs several hundred yards away.  



Past Projects

  • Maintenance of the Chief Standing Bear Trail


    Project Details

    HCTA is a non profit charged with maintaining nineteen miles of trail from a point southeast of Beatrice south to the Kansas state line, including the trailheads at Holmesville, Blue Springs, and Barneston. Controlling noxious weeds is a significant annual expense that must be done in order to keep the trail clear. All funds to maintain and improve the trail are raised by donations, purchases of trail passes, and events that are held on the trail. One enhancement we are looking at doing is adding electricity to the shelter at the Holmesville trailhead to allow visitors to charge a device if needed.



  • Maintenance of the Chief Standing Bear Trail


    Project Details

    Maintaining nineteen miles of trail is an ongoing task that requires time and funds. Spraying the noxious weeds is one example of a task requiring significant funding every year. The crushed limestone on the trail needs to be replaced periodically, the restrooms at the trail head need supplies and the tanks under them need to be pumped regularly. Members of the Board and a group of active volunteers give of their time to keep the tree growth contained and off the trail and added amenities like the bicycle repair stations at the three trailheads were also made possible through the kindness of donors.

  • Maintenance of the Chief Standing Bear Trail


    Project Details

    Maintaining the trail is an ongoing project; even with volunteers providing donations of time and labor there are recurring costs that need to be covered. Spraying for noxious weeds, repairing eroded areas to ensure proper rainwater drainage, and keeping bridges clear of tree limbs to prevent washout are examples of tasks that need to be done repeatedly in order to keep the trail in good shape. 



  • Maintenance of the Chief Standing Bear Trail


    Project Details

    In 2020 with all of the rain, the creeks and bridges have accumulated a lot of debris that has cost HCTA a lot of money to clear the debris and to keep the bridge headwalls intact.  All funds to maintain the trail are raised by donations, purchases of trail passes and events that are held on the trail. 

    Every year the Board members and Volunteers of the trail maintain the Chief Standing Bear Trail.  The maintenance includes mowing all trailheads, trimming of trees and branches that fall into the trail and keeping the growth back, spraying the trail and parking areas of all trail heads for noxious weeds.  Maintenance of the ATV's to haul rock and chainsaws for upkeep of the trail.    All work is done by the volunteers of the HCTA board and active volunteers who help out with the trail maintenance and upkeep.  



  • Maintenance of the Chief Standing Bear Trail


    Project Details

    Every year the Board members and Volunteers of the trail maintain the Chief Standing Bear Trail.  The maintenance includes mowing all trailheads, trimming of trees and branches that fall into the trail and keeping the growth back, spraying the trail and parking areas of all trail heads for noxious weeds.  Maintenance of the ATV's to haul rock and chainsaws for upkeep of the trail.    All work is done by the volunteers of the HCTA board and active volunteers who help out with the trail maintenance and upkeep.  All funds to maintain the trail are raised by donations, purchases of trail passes and events that are held on the trail.







$0 Raised of $25,000 goal
$0 $25,000
0 Donors
Homestead Conservation and Trails Association (HCTA)

620 Court Street
Beatrice, NE 68310
 
(402) 806-0502

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