The Nebraska Sandhills

About this book

"Like a rumpled wool blanket, the Nebraska Sandhills spreads out over twenty thousand square miles of north central Nebraska and is the largest stabilised dune field in the Western Hemisphere. It is also the largest intact mixed-grass prairie left on the continent."

This description by photographer Michael Forsberg alludes to the exceptional physical geography of the Nebraska Sandhills, a place of rolling grasslands, rivers, and wetlands created by the Ogallala Aquifer that underlies the region. Home to abundant wildlife, from pronghorn antelope to sandhill cranes, the Sandhills are an ecological treasure. Dotted with ranches and small towns, the Sandhills are rich with deep cultural history, including that of Indigenous peoples, settlers, Black homesteaders, immigrants, ecotourists, and some adventurous golfers.

The Nebraska Sandhills features nearly forty essays about the history, people, geography, geology, ecology, and conservation of the Nebraska Sandhills. Illustrated with hundreds of remarkable colour photographs of the area, this is the most up-to-date and illuminating portrayal of this remarkable yet largely unknown region of the United States.

Contents

Foreword / Michael J. Boehm
Introduction: My Introduction to the Nebraska Sandhills / Mary Harner
Introduction: A Kingdom of Grass - The Nebraska Sandhills / Michael Forsberg

Part I. Sense of Place
1. Tantalizing Clues as to Indigenous Peoples' Lives in the Sandhills
      1a. Humphrey Site Reveals Sandhills' Apache Presence / John R. (Rob) Bozell and Courtney L.C. Ziska
2. The Turtle at the End of the World
      2a. Skidi Pawnee Mythic Journey / Roger Echo-Hawk
3. Cheyenne Sanctuary: The Northern Cheyenne Exodus, Mari Sandoz, and Lost Chokecherry Lake / Emily Levine
4. Settlers: Ranchers, Homesteaders, Immigrants / Andrew Pollock
      4a. The Black Homesteaders of DeWitty / Richard Edwards
5. Town Life / Mark Harris
6. Nebraska's Human-made National Forest / Carson Vaughan
7. An Abandoned Stone Schoolhouse in the Nebraska Sandhills / Ted Kooser

Part II. Land
8. Physical Setting of the Sandhills in Maps / R. Matthew Joeckel, Clayton L. Reinier, Paul R. Hanson, Jesse T. Korus. Troy E. Gilmore, and Aaron R. Young
9. The Sandhills Through Time / David Loope, James Swinehart, and Joe Mason
10. What It takes to Form a Giant Dune Field / David Loope, James Swinehart, and Joe Mason
11. The Last Five Million Years of Grasslands and Grazers
      11a. Where the Buffalo Roam ... or Not / Chris Widga
12. Sandhills Grassland, Large Grazers, and Conservative Use / Al Steuter
13. Sandhills Soils - Interactions among Topography, Water, Sand, Vegetation, and Grazers / Martha Mamo

Part III. Water
14. Groundwater - How the High Plains Aquifer Shapes the Sandhills / Erin Haacker
15. Sandhills Streams and Rivers as Influenced by Groundwater, Climate, and Humans
      15a. The Niobrara -- a National Scenic River
      15b. March 2019 Floods / Jessica Corman and Troy Gilmore
16. Sandhills Lakes in Space and Time / Sherilyn C. Fritz
      16a. Sandhills Alkaline Lakes / David Dunigan
17. Diverse Groundwater-Fed Sandhills Wetlands / Ted LaGrange
      17a. Fens / Ted LaGrange and Gerry Steinauer
18. A River in Motion: Platte Basin Timelapse / Michael Farrell, Michael Forsberg, Kim Hachiya, and Mary Harner

Part IV. Climate and Weather
19. The Times They are a Changing - Seasonal, Inter-annual, and Long-term Variability in Sandhills Temperature, Wind, Rain, and Drought / Martha Shulski
20. How and Why Storms Form in the Sandhills: Location, Location, Location
      20a. Storm Chasing / Adam Houston
21. When Too Much Water is the Problem: 2019 and the Flooding of the Sandhills / Bethany Johnston

Part V. Sea of Grass
22. The Unique Diversity and Habitat Structure of Sandhills Grasslands
      22a. Are the Sandhills Resilient or Fragile? / Chris Helzer
23. Sandhills Prairie / Gerry Steinauer
      23a. Blowout Penstemon / Cheryl Dunn
24. Grazing Management for Beef Production and Wildlife Habitat
      24a. Grazing, Landscapes, and Greater Prairie-chickens / Walt Schacht and Larkin Powell
25. Irrigation in the Sandhills / Jerry Volesky

Part VI. Ranching
26. Ranching Through the Seasons: Planned for the Worst. Hoped for the Best. / Sara Sortum
27. Leopold Award Winners / Douglas Norby
28. Rotational Grazing and Sustainable Grasslands / Jim Jenkins

Part VII. Wildlife
29. Birds of the Sandhills
      29a. Wilson's Phalarope
      29b. Long-billed Curlew / Larkin Powell
30. Sandhills' Inconspicuous Mammals Make the Region Unique / Shaun Dunn
      30a. Kangaroo Rats' Habits Enhance Plant Diversity / Keith Geluso and Jeremy A. White
31. Sandhills' Sweet Water Lakes are Productive Fisheries
      31a. Common Carp: Invasive Scourge / Daryl Bauer
32. Herpetofauna Adapt to Sandhills' Idiosyncratic Landscapes / Dennis Ferraro
      32a. Blanding's Turtles: Sandhills Smileys / Ashley Forrester
33. Diverse Landscapes Enrich Insect Diversity and Numbers / Jeffrey Bradshaw
      33a. American Burying Beetle
      33b. Giant Skipper
      33c. Sandy Tiger Beetle / Steve Spomer

Part VIII. Future of the Sandhills
34. Sandhills Task Force
      34a. Eastern Red Cedar / Shelly Kelly
35. Economy, Ranching, and Ecotourism in the Sandhills / Richard Edwards and Katie Nieland
      35a. World-Class Golf Courses / Douglas Norby
36. Demographics of the Sandhills Over Time / Dennis Bauer
37. Local Knowledge and the Future of the Sandhills / Mary Ann Vinton and Jay Leighter
38. Alternative Futures of the Sandhills / Craig Allen and Caleb Roberts

Selected Books for Further Insights into the Sandhills
Author Information
Acknowledgements

Customer Reviews