The ranchers who manage the nearly 20,000 square miles of grass-covered dunes that are home to some five hundred thousand cattle have a special knowledge of the Nebraska Sandhills. Like the Indigenous people who occupied the area before them, the most successful ranchers have respect for the land and its ecosystems. This respectful land ethic is a hallmark of the Sand County Foundation. Based in Madison, Wisconsin, the foundation honors Aldo Leopold, considered the father of wildlife ecology and the United States’ wilderness system. Leopold’s famous 1949 work, A Sand County Almanac, is a landmark in the American conservation movement. He believed contact with the natural world shapes our ability to extend our ethics beyond self-interest to include care for waters, soils, animals, and plants. Leopold believed humans have a moral responsibility to the natural world, and that the future of American wildlife lay largely in the attitudes and decisions of American farmers and landowners on private lands.
In 2003 the foundation created the Leopold Conservation Awards to honor those dedicated to the land ethic and to inspire others to adopt similar conservation stewardship practices. Criteria include conservation ethic, resilience, leadership and communication, innovation and adaptability, and ecological community.
Eight Sandhills ranches, along with eight other Nebraska farms and ranches, have been honored with the Leopold Award since 2006. Sandhills ranchers have been recognized for practices that maintain the integrity of the land for cattle and using conservation tactics like prescribed burns and rotational grazing to ensure the future of their ranches.
2006: Wilson Ranch
The fifteen-thousand-acre Wilson Ranch, located northeast of Lakeside, is owned by fifth-generation ranchers and brothers Blaine and Brian Wilson. The Wilsons’ development of a “wildlife pasture” strictly for habitat protection included a drip system and windbreaks. They also created a wetland area that has attracted several species of birds back to the area.
2008: Four Bar O Ranches
Run by the Cox family for more than a century, the Four Bar O ranch is operated by A.B. Cox and his daughter Scout. Using rotational grazing over their twenty-three thousand acres reduces the need to harvest hay for feed. When they do harvest, they mow in a unique mosaic pattern that provides habitat for wildlife. Cox also is dedicated to helping educate others about the importance of maintaining the land; he has been involved with conservation groups and community outreach programs, hosting workshops, clinics, and tours.
2012: Shovel Dot Ranch
The Shovel Dot Ranch in Bassett was founded by Benjamin Franklin Buell in 1882. On a move from Michigan to Washington State, Benjamin fell in love with the Sandhills and settled there. The ranch is run by his great-grandchildren Larry and Homer, and their wives Nickie and Darla.
While adopting common conservation techniques, such as fencing for effective cattle distribution and installing 50 miles of water pipeline, the Buell family also has developed several human-made lakes on their property that are fenced to ensure habitat for deer, turkey, swans, ducks, and geese. Two creeks provide diverse natural habitat for many other types of wildlife. The Buells provide tours to visitors from all over the world and are active in many community groups.
2013: Beel Ranch
Henry C. Beel bought the twenty-two-thousand-acre ranch near Johnstown in 1937 and seven years later began filing conservation plans. Today the ranch is run by his grandchildren: brothers Frank, Henry, and Adam, and their wives Jennifer, Mary, and Jenny.
The Beels expanded their conservation efforts by increasing their water supply to ensure plentiful water for their rotational grazing system and provide habitat for wildlife. They have designed and coordinated the installation of 32 miles of pipeline, with eighty-nine hydrants, six wells, and forty-five new tanks to go along with the existing sixty-seven windmills.
2014: Pelster Ranch
The Pelster Ranch near Ericson is known as one of the early developers of rotational grazing. Its original owner, the late Duane Pelster, said his guiding principle was “Be good to the land, and the land will be good to you.”
The rotational grazing that Pelster implemented enables plants to thrive, even during extended drought. Cedar and weed control have led to healthier grass and increased wildlife, including prairie-chickens, deer, ducks, geese, and even a family of otters living in a pond on the land. The ranch also uses limited sustainable hunting to keep the deer population in check.
2016: Plum Thicket Farm
Plum Thicket Farm, located near Gordon, is a diverse crop farm and cattle ranch owned by Rex and Dr. Nancy Peterson, their son Patrick and his wife, Krista. When they purchased the property in 1998, they knew their twenty-three hundred acres were vulnerable to drought and blizzards, so they adopted no-till practices to improve water retention and reduce erosion. The Petersons rotate their corn, pinto beans, field peas, and wheat crops to improve soil quality, provide better grazing for cattle, and create natural habitat for pollinators. Moving their calving season to May and letting the cattle feed on cereal rye enables cattle to graze sorghum in the winter and saves the labor of baling it.
2019: Broken Box Ranch
Using prescribed burning techniques, Russ Sundstrom, his wife, Angela, daughter Cheyenne, and his brother Neil, have helped their land in the Loess Canyons flourish. The Sundstroms have brought the hilly landscape back to health through rotational grazing, making the ranch productive for cattle, and giving 250 different species of birds a home. Russ has cleared hundreds of acres of invasive cedar trees and uses aggressive grazing methods to clear other unwanted vegetation.
The Sundstroms are active in the community, and the Broken Box Ranch was accepted as a Rangeland Health Demonstration Ranch in 2019. Russ collects data and monitors different conservation and management methods and their impact on the land and wildlife. The ranch is also enrolled in the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission Open Fields and Waters Program, which allows public hunting on the ranch to help manage turkey, deer, quail, and elk, while also offering protection to endangered species.
2021: Switzer Ranch
Fourth-generation ranchers and siblings Adam Switzer and Sarah Sortum of the Switzer Ranch run a cow-calf operation on their twelve thousand acres and began to move toward biodiversity goals in 2009. Part of this change was developing Calamus Outfitters, providing customers with river float trips, eco-tours, and lodging and event space.
The business not only ensures that the ranch will stay in the family, but it has brought attention to the little-known prairie grouse and its dwindling habitat. “At the time we didn’t realize the plight that grassland birds were in,” Sortum recalled upon receiving the award. “If this is their last stronghold, we have got to step up and make sure we provide what they need to survive.”
Using conservation methods, such as prescribed burning and conservation, the Switzer Ranch has provided a habitat where the birds can thrive. The ranch hosts guided tours of the birds’ habitat and a yearly prairie-chicken fest.