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46 • Assess the current OFW program (i�e�, payment rates, requirements, priorities, etc�) to develop a strategic plan to guide future expansion of the program to better meet the needs of Nebraska's hunters and anglers (§C�3) less than $15,000; one to two years • Assess the creation of a new reservation-based, public access program to provide additional hunting opportunities near urban population centers and/or in areas with high demand (§C�3) less than $10,000; one to two years • Assess the current structure of small game permits (i�e�, types, age requirements, pricing, etc�) to ensure a proper balance between lowering barriers to participation and providing the services necessary to encourage continued participation, including an assessment of increasing the minimum age requirement for purchasing a small game permit and/or reducing permit prices for youth (NR), first-time, and other novice hunters� (§D�2) $50,000-$100,000; one year HABITAT STUDIES: PRIVATE AND PUBLIC LAND MANAGEMENT • Continue to refine priority areas and landowner incentives to capitalize on new opportunities to strategically restore pheasant habitat at the landscape scale (§B�1) less than $10,000; ongoing • Begin to identify opportunities to improve pheasant habitat on private lands surrounding high-priority WMAs to maximize pheasant population responses to WMA improvements (§B�1) less than $10,000; less than one year • Begin research examining the relationships between pheasant abundance and habitat availability and develop decision support tools to help inform and prioritize the future delivery of CRP and other USDA Farm Bill programs (§B�2) $800,000; five years (repeated above) • Assess the use of ecosystem service incentives (e�g�, sustainable agriculture, carbon markets, etc�) to help restore and conserve pheasant habitat (§A) less than $25,000; one to two years • Assess the feasibility of mobile work crews or other partnership positions to increase capacity to deliver private lands habitat and access programs within the priority area (§B�1) less than $10,000; less than one year • Assess the feasibility of establishing priority areas within portions of the Rainwater Basin and Eastern Saline Wetland Complexes that support high wetland densities, with emphasis on improving habitat on existing public lands and surrounding private lands (§B�1) less than $10,000; less than one year • Assess the efficacy and potential limitations of current program offerings used to restore grassland habitat on pivot corners and identify the most cost-effective ways to target efforts within specific portions of focal areas dominated by irrigated agriculture (§B�1) less than $10,000; less than one year • Assess the feasibility of alternative approaches to expand our capacity to accomplish work on WMAs (e�g�, traveling work crews, "Adopt a WMA" programs, etc�) (§B�4) less than $10,000; less than one year • Assess the apparent suitability of current and additional WMAs to support hunt-able pheasant populations based on WMA size and surrounding landscape condition and adjust priorities accordingly� (§B�4) less than $15,000; one year POLICY STUDIES: LEGISLATIVE/REGULATION CHANGES AND FEASIBILITY • Begin to develop science-based, white paper describing the agency's recommended changes to the existing state statutes (e�g�, #39-1811) involving the management of roadside vegetation (§B�8) less than $10,000; less than one year • Begin the regulation-setting process to allow dog-proof traps on any WMAs that currently prohibit dryland trapping (i�e�, Branched Oak and Yankee Hill) (§B�9) less than $10,000; less than one year • Assess the feasibility of pursuing alternative funding sources (e�g�, a dedicated state sales tax, a special appropriation from the legislature, a non-wasting trust fund for pheasant conservation, &c�) in collaboration with our conservation partners (§A) less than $10,000; less than one year • Assess the feasibility of pursuing legislative actions that would promote pheasant habitat and hunting (e�g�, a property tax reduction, freeze, or similar incentive on cropland converted to grassland or stream buffers, promotion of prescribed fire, etc�) in collaboration with our conservation partners (§A) less than $10,000; less than one year • Assess the biological, economic, and legal ramifications of reducing or streamlining CSA and CWP rules and policies, and recommend changes accordingly such that the regulatory burden is minimized (§B�7) less than $10,000; less than one year • Assess the current rules and regulations regarding dog training on conservation partner lands and encourage the adoption of those on Wildlife Management Areas (i�e�, not allowed May 1 – July 31) to minimize disturbance during the primary nesting season (§B�8) less than $10,000; less than one year • Assess which Nebraska county boards currently prohibit trapping in road right-of-ways and determine if an outreach campaign on the advances in trapping technology/techniques (e�g�, dog-proof traps) is warranted to expand trapping opportunities (§B�9) less than $10,000; less than one year