NRD releases endangered tiger beetles

Posted By: Bayley Bischof Channel 8 Eyewitness News

A beetle, that’s only found in Nebraska, could be on its way to making a comeback with the help of the Lower Platte South Natural Resource District.

They released 27 of them into the Whitehead Saline Wetland Thursday.

"They are only in this area again, a very unique little critter to unique wetland area,” David Potter, with the Lower Platte South NRD.

They live in saline wetlands, where the salt content in the water and soil is very high.

But the beetles are endangered, Potter said, which is why they’ve been the focus of years of research.

"There aren’t very many of them in the world, and we’re doing our job in protecting them,” Potter said.

With the help of UNL, the Henry Doorly Zoo and the Lincoln Children’s Zoo, tiger beetles have been mated and allowed to grow in controlled environments, and then released back into their natural habitats.

A handful are released each year.

"If we could increase them 27 by every year then they’ll start multiplying.” Potter said. “So yes, it seems like a very small number for a very small bug but the progress on this is making a significant difference."

This is a project that’s cost millions. In 2015 a plan was drafted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that put a price tag of $30 million dollars on this project.

But Potter said projects like these are needed.

"It’s important to protect any endangered species out there, as they are put on that endangered species list, it’s our job as conservationists to make sure they survive in the world because it does affect other species along the way,” Potter said.

There are tiger beetles in all of the saline wetlands in the area; they are located in north east and north west Lincoln.

More information on the wetlands and the tiger beetle can be found here: