By Mark Coddington
mark.coddington@theindependent.com

And chances are he has asked you to consider trying a conservation program on your land.

That's because Lott is always keeping an eye out for the next opportunity to restore some land to its natural state even when driving from place to place.

"You drive by and see a meadow, and you say, 'Hey, why don't you think about converting this back to wildlife (habitat)?'" said Lott, a resource conservationist in the Natural Resources Conservation Service's St. Paul office.

Because of that enthusiasm for wildlife's well-being, Lott was named Nebraska Pheasants Forever 2008 Wildlife Professional of the Year last month.

Pete Berthelsen, the Pheasants Forever senior field coordinator who presented Lott with the award, said that in his 17 years of working with Lott, he has seen his passion, dedication and conscientiousness enough to call him "the best of the best."

"His promotion and efforts related to wildlife conservation aren't limited to 9 to 5," Berthelsen said. "Because he personally believes in it and is passionate about it, he puts that extra effort into it."

Berthelsen should know. He also owns land north of St. Paul on which he has worked with Lott on three conservation programs.

As one of the NRCS' field officers, Lott is charged with working with landowners to preserve and protect the land whether it's through cutting invasive cedar trees in pastures, planting native grasses on a difficult-to-farm field or encouraging no-till farming to prevent erosion.

He's also the point man for the Wetlands Reserve Program through the nine-county Lower Loup Natural Resources District, the largest in the state.

That's essentially two jobs in one, said Tim Schaaf, the district conservationist, but Lott attacks them with gusto, constantly looking for ways to help landowners help the land.

"He gets stuff done, that's what he does," Schaaf said. "He doesn't let the bureaucracy slow him down."

Lott's love for the outdoors started early: Growing up in Fairmont, he was an avid outdoorsman.

When the time came to choose a major at what was then Kearney State College, the choice was simple.

"I said, 'I like to hunt and fish I guess I'll do wildlife biology," he said.

Now, though he works to protect the soil, water, air, plants and animals, one stands out above the rest.

"Everything I do, I try to do for wildlife," he said.

And in the five years he has been in St. Paul, Lott and the organizations NRCS partners with have done quite a bit.

They've restored sloughs on the Loup Rivers, slowed erosion on some of the county's steep, rolling farmland, and reclaimed acres upon acres of habitat for pheasants, quail and waterfowl.

Though the NRCS is a government agency under the U.S. Department of Agriculture, it often works with private conservation groups such as Pheasants Forever and Ducks Unlimited.

In fact, Pheasants Forever has several field officers called Farm Bill wildlife biologists who also work for the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission out of the NRCS office.

One of those biologists, Ryan Lodge, is stationed in the St. Paul office. He said Lott is always eager to work with him to help farmers find the best conservation program to work with their land.

And, like Lodge, Lott is concerned about using every bit of land even the corners of fields that center pivots can't reach to somehow benefit wildlife.

"It makes it real easy to work with someone who shares the same ideas and values as me," Lodge said.

Lott keeps plenty busy juggling all of his projects, but he's still eager to add more. After all, a life's passion transcends a difficult workload.

"There's so much more we can do," he said. "We're sort of a drop in the bucket."