Lancaster County commissioners on Tuesday reached a consensus on closing a dirt road near Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center, a move some say could enhance the tallgrass prairie preserve and help several bird species now in decline.

After an hour-long public hearing, each of the five commissioners spoke in favor of closing the road, but with conditions.  They then voted unanimously to ask the county attorney’s office to draft a resolution that would be presented at their next meeting.

The resolution would:

* Vacate part of Southwest 86th Street between West Saltillo and West Bennet roads.

* Allow the county to retain ownership of the road, which is about a mile long.

* Make adjacent property owners responsible for the installation of fences, locked gates and road closure signs.

* Require adjacent property owners to protect the road bed and hold the county harmless for damages.

 Some of the legal issues and details still have to be worked out, and there could be more discussion on the issue because there are two state laws that deal with road closures — one of which does not allow locks on gates.

“I believe this decision is in the best interest of our kids and education of our environment,” Commissioner Deb Schorr said before the vote. “And it’s best for the community.”

Marian Langan, the Audubon Center’s director, initially asked the County Board to close two road segments permanently to protect the preserve from vandals, trash-dumpers and parties.

 A public hearing on the issue was held in September, but the County Board continued it at the request of Commissioner Bernie Heier. He wanted to give farmers, who were busy with harvest, a chance to testify and a chance for attorneys to research the issue. 

About 30 people, mostly those who supported closing the roads, showed up to testify Tuesday. During the hearing, Langan presented an amendment to her original request and asked that only one road be closed temporarily and that the center staff be allowed to conduct prairie burns and remove unwanted trees and invasive plant species.

Langan withdrew a request to vacate a very small segment of West Saltillo Road between Southwest 84th and 86th because the segment was not that critical to the prairie’s preservation.

 Asked why she changed her request to a temporary road closure, Langan said in an interview:  “We got the sense they were not going to do it permanently.”

Langan said the support of the County Board would protect a prairie complex of more than 2,100 acres that includes easements with adjacent landowners.

County  Engineer Don Thomas  wanted the road to stay open for local traffic. About 11 vehicles use the road each day, but farmers use it to move cattle and farm equipment. He questioned who would take care of the road if it were closed. Thomas said his department would not because it no longer would be a road.

Ralph Phillips, a farm manager for Jeanné Boman, who owns a nearby half-section of land, said Boman opposed closing the roads because it could create access problems for some of her tenants, who lease pasture and hunt on her land, as well as for emergency vehicles that may be called in to fight grass fires.

“There’s not a whole lot of north-south roads that go through there,” Phillips said.

  Boman also is concerned limiting access could reduce the value of her land. Langan, however, told commissioners that studies had shown that being close to a nature preserve actually increased the value of property.

The Lancaster County Farm Bureau, which has 6,000 members, also opposed closing the roads, said Rod Hollman, the bureau’s president and an area landowner.

“We believe county roads are an asset and are valuable to the community,” Hollman said. “Closing a road is a permanent action. Who knows what the future will bring?”

Hollman personally believes closing the roads would create a “big weed patch” that would be difficult to maintain. Others disagreed, saying closing the roads would benefit wildlife, especially eastern meadowlark and bobwhite quail.

Paul Johnsgard, a well-known ornithologist and retired professor in the School of Biological Sciences at UNL, said creating a contiguous block of wildlife habitat at Spring Creek Prairie would help the greater prairie chicken.

“Prairie chickens need large home ranges free of disturbances for nesting and mating displays,” Johnsgard said. “Research shows that these birds are particularly sensitive to disturbances.”

Reach Algis J. Laukaitis at 402-473-7243 or alaukaitis@journalstar.com.