Tylr Naprstek

Natural resources graduate credits valuable practical experience in SNR – Meet Tylr Naprstek

Manages groundwater-monitoring program for natural resources district

It’s rare that a single decision answers many of life’s questions, but once in a while, as Yogi Berra said, when you come to a fork in the road, you take it. Valentine native Tylr Naprstek took such a turn in his quest to make a love of natural resources and wildlife into a meaningful career, while, just to up the ante, playing tenor sax in a marching band.

He answered these questions with a single decision – to pursue a degree in natural resources at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.

"UNL had always been my number one choice when I started to look for colleges, and once I had looked closely at natural resources at UNL and was accepted as a tenor saxophonist in the marching band, the decision was final," the 2003 School of Natural Resources graduate said.

Naprstek is currently pursuing a lifelong love of the outdoors and natural resources as water resources manager for the Upper Elkhorn Natural Resources District in O’Neill. There he manages the NRD’s groundwater-monitoring program, reviews and approves new well applications, does computer mapping and more.

He firmly credits UNL’s School of Natural Resources with nurturing his interests and helping get him on a career path he enjoys in which he shows promise.

"My experiences in the School were a strong foundation for career achievement. Because of its ties to related agencies, and the opportunities to expand on work experience, the university really cultivated my field experience and interests. And it did this while expanding my knowledge about current natural resources issues," Naprstek said.

Before coming to Lincoln, the 25-year-old knew he wanted a career in natural resources, but wasn’t sure if it would lie in fisheries, wildlife, forestry or water.

"I needed a broad education to make myself marketable."

He visited other colleges and universities looking for the answers to these and other questions, but didn’t find them until he came home to UNL.

"I enjoyed each visit to the campus, and the faculty made my transition into becoming a UNL student very smooth. A key person in that regard was Dr. Ron Case, the first faculty member I met," he said.

Case, recently retired from the School, serves on the board of directors for the Lower Platte South NRD in Lincoln. Case helped guide Naprstek through his degree program and helped the Valentine Rural High School graduate build on experiences working with state 4-H programs at Halsey and with the Youth Conservation Corps at the Ft. Niobrara

National Wildlife Refuge near Valentine. In his first two summers of college, Naprstek found an opportunity to work as a range technician for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, where he helped fight fires in Nebraska, Colorado and Wyoming, conducted avian studies and worked at helping control purple loosestrife infestations on the Niobrara River.

The next two years he worked part-time for the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission’s Fisheries Division.

"The field work was rigorous, since I assisted with projects such as shad survey or catfish creel, which often required long hours."

While working with the Fisheries Division, Naprstek completed a report on using black crappie aging methods. He credits the assistance he had on the project with "great guidance from my adviser, Dr. Ed Peters, along with Keith Hurley of the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission."

"The practical experience gained while getting my degree has been as valuable as the degree itself. I think it helped a lot that when I was fresh out of college, I had some significant and varied work experience," he said. With a combination of work experience and an education, Naprstek secured a job in the natural resource field within two months of graduating from the university.

"The degree I earned and the experiences I had at UNL have been very well-respected in the job field, and there were a lot of contacts and personal interactions in the School that have stayed with me even today," Naprstek said.

– by Steven W. Ress, communications coordinator, UNL Water Center/SNR