Paul Hammel
LINCOLN — A political barrier fell, and the U.S. Senate on Monday passed a bill that would allow more than 180 lakeside cabins to remain at two southwest Nebraska reservoirs.
The proposal, introduced in the Senate by U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., had been held up “as political leverage” last week, but the opposition stepped aside on Monday.
The bill was introduced on behalf of cabin owners along Swanson and Red Willow Reservoirs in southwest Nebraska who were threatened with removing their abodes to make way for campground improvements planned by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which manages the reservoirs.
Removal of the cabins, some of which have been used by families for decades, was scheduled to begin in February. Last week, it was unclear whether the bill could be passed before the Senate’s holiday recess.
The bill would put the cabins under control of Hitchcock and Frontier counties. It now goes to President Joe Biden for his signature.
“Thankfully, today Congress has agreed to right this wrong by transferring control of this land back to local officials,” Fischer said Monday in a statement.
The members of the Hitchcock and Frontier county boards thanked Fischer and the rest of the Nebraska congressional delegation for pushing the bill to approval in a joint statement.
The House of Representatives had earlier passed a version of the bill for the cabin owners that was introduced by U.S. Rep. Adrian Smith, R-Neb., who represents the 3rd District.