VALENTINE, Neb. - Public restrooms along the popular canoeing stretch of the Niobrara River could soon be locked up unless the Niobrara Council secures emergency funding.

The council’s executive director recently sent a letter to State Sen. Tanya Storer, urging lawmakers to intervene and help fund the maintenance and staffing of restroom facilities and other public services along the river.

As previously reported by News Channel Nebraska, the National Park Service (NPS) typically provides the Niobrara Council with $100,000 annually through a cooperative agreement. But last year’s final $20,000 installment was never paid, and this year’s full allocation is still in limbo due to federal budget cuts.

In an email to the Niobrara Council’s director, the superintendent of the Niobrara National Scenic River said the NPS has lost more than half of its contracting staff and is no longer accepting new projects.

“They can't complete what they have currently and are making decisions on priorities,” the email stated.

For the last 25 years, the NPS and the Niobrara Council have partnered to maintain three vault restrooms and a dumpster along the river. But this is the first year since the Council was created by the Nebraska Legislature in 2000 that no cooperative agreement exists to fund these efforts.

“Without funding for this project specifically, these vault toilets will have to be locked to avoid becoming a public health hazard,” said Executive Director Kalli Kieborz. “There aren’t additional restroom facilities in these above mentioned locations for public use because as part of the agreements with the landowners and the time of placement, the long standing, homemade, old pit in the ground toilets were removed.“

Kieborz warned that the council won’t be able to operate through the next fiscal year without financial support.

“We’re asking for your help,” she wrote to Storer. “The Legislature created the Council, and now the Council needs its help.”

Tourism has become a growing economic force in the Valentine area, especially in recent years, with the Niobrara River drawing thousands of visitors each summer.