Like me, many authors who contributed to The Nebraska Sandhills are not of the place but came to the region through their work, studies, or a personal connection. And like me, they discovered that being in the Sandhills was life changing. They returned to learn about the natural and cultural resources, experience the beauty and solitude, and come to know people whose homes and livelihoods are within the prairie and undulating hills. In these pages, more than sixty contributors share insights about the land, water, climate, grasslands, sense of place, ranching, wildlife, and future of the Sandhills. Their writings build upon An Atlas of the Sand Hills, first published in 1989 and edited by Ann Bleed and Charles Flowerday.
The Sandhills cover about a quarter of the state of Nebraska, but they are distant from where most Nebraskans live. One of the Sandhills’ most noticeable aspects is the darkness of the skies, an indicator of its remoteness. In fact, the outline of the Sandhills is visible on maps of the darkest areas of North America. Here star-filled skies, unobstructed views of the horizon, and places free of sounds made by people—notably traffic—offer a sense of wildness that is rare in so much of the world.
My first in-depth experience in the Sandhills—and its brilliant night sky—was at Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge, north of Oshkosh, Nebraska. There I assisted with a study of how kangaroo rats, a nocturnal mammal, distribute seeds in the prairie sand. That research trip, like many others to the Sandhills, involved colleagues from multiple University of Nebraska campuses and others. The fieldwork provided a way to observe and discover in the outdoor laboratory that the Sandhills offer. Even more, it sparked my curiosity to learn more about the region and a sense of responsibility to increase awareness about the place to students and others.
I first turned to An Atlas of the Sand Hills for information, and I have continued to use and share that publication as I have conducted research throughout the region. An Atlas of the Sand Hills was written as a reference book, a field guide of sorts, that was supported by scientific research and detailed descriptions that included maps, charts, and other graphics. Bleed and Flowerday said its intent was to provide readers “a better understanding and deeper appreciation of this distinctive area of Nebraska.”
As a researcher who studies rivers and wetlands, I was drawn to chapters about groundwater, streams, lakes, and wetlands within this semiarid region. Decades later, the variability of the aquatic systems in the Sandhills and how water moves through this landscape continue to amaze and perplex researchers, residents, and others. For example, a lake present one month may become a dry sand bed the next; a county road may turn into a flowing stream overnight; a meadow may flood even in the midst of a drought. There remains much to learn about what this hydrologic variability and complexity mean to various organisms, including people, who rely upon and manage this ever-changing resource.
Since 2011 Platte Basin Timelapse (PBT) has documented the Sandhills through the placement of cameras that take hourly images of different landscapes and water features, including lakes, streams, and stock tanks. This visual record allows viewers to perceive change across time in ways not possible through direct observation and serves as a source of data for ecohydrological research. With a storytelling approach, PBT partners are creating context around these images and through interviews with residents, land managers, and researchers. And, importantly, they are building a community of students, early-career professionals, and others with skills to document and convey complexities of water and other natural resource topics in the Sandhills and well beyond.
In the introduction to An Atlas of the Sand Hills, Bleed and Flowerday described how, “yet in spite of this expertise, nearly all were quick to point out that there are still many unanswered questions about the Sand Hills. In a real sense, as the region was once a frontier for settlers, it is still a frontier for scientists.” In the intervening thirty-plus years, people have continued scientific research,exploring other ways of coming to know the Sandhills and advancing knowledge of this unique place.
It is in the spirit of storytelling that authors have contributed to the following pages, seeking to share understanding and appreciation for this place and why its conservation matters. The original atlas highlighted various intersections, such as plant communities from different parts of North America that converge in the Sandhills, and opposites, such as wet versus dry and homogeneous yet varied, that occur in the region. This new book continues those themes and further emphasizes how the land, water, climate, land use, and people are interconnected and interdependent. Attention to the roles of people in the Sandhills also extends through this book.
The Nebraska Sandhills editors’ goals are to engage readers to think about this unique landscape, its future, and what it means for Nebraskans. It presents the work of scientists, historians, archaeologists, Indigenous scholars, journalists, and residents. Many have a personal stake in the region’s future. In fact, all Nebraskans have a stake in the future of this landscape that supports much of the state’s economy and biodiversity, as well as the health and well-being of its people.