By Alex Benzegala
Panhandle Post
Drought conditions have improved in Nebraska since earlier in the year, with reports of parts of the state in exceptional drought.
A new four-year study called Rural Confluence, involves the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Oklahoma State University and Louisiana State University, aims to work with rural communities increase their resilience against climate impacts. UNL Professor Mary Emery directs UNL’s Rural Prosperity Nebraska and says they’re taking a bit of a different approach by seeking input from community members first.
"There's a lot of resistance sometimes when people from outside say, 'oh, we did all of this research and this is what you should do," Emery said. " People will say, you don't know our community, you don't know if that will work or not."
The study is founded by the National Science Foundation and water is a major focus of the study and what challenges each community has and how to be better prepared to handle those challenges. UNLL will choose two communities in the Nebraska with different identities such as tourism, agriculture.
Nebraska Public News Service contributed to this story.