The Nebraska Sandhills

The area I’m most excited to see on my prairie trip is the Sand Hills in Nebraska.  Covering up to nearly one quarter of the state, the Sand Hills is, not coincidentally, one of the least populated areas in the US and most ecologically intact grassland landscapes on the continent.  They are also one of the least well-known areas of the country; a Google search didn’t uncover much for me to refer to.  Wikipedia has decent synopsis (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sand_Hills_(Nebraska)), including some significant tidbits:

“Minimal crop production has led to limited land fragmentation; the resulting extensive and continuous habitat for plant and animal species has largely preserved the biodiversity of the area.”

“…the largest and most intricate wetland ecosystem in the United States…”

“720 different species of plants are found in the Sand Hills. Of these, the majority are native, with only 7% exotics — half the percentage of most other prairie systems.”

One of the most frequently recognized indicators of ecological degradation is if habitat fragmentation.   Few places remain where ecosystems persist unbroken on a large scale.  The reason I’m taking this trip is because the Great Plains is the area where prairies exist in the largest blocks.  The Sand Hills is the biggest and based on the above statement about the lack of invasives, it’s some of, if not the, best.

The assertion is reiterated in the following quote from the World Wildlife Fund (http://www.worldwildlife.org/wildworld/profiles/terrestrial/na/na0809_full.html):

"It is estimated that as much as 85 percent of the Sand Hills is still intact….Degradation of the tallgrass prairie is less in the Sand Hills than in other grassland ecoregions;…"

The best and largest prairies hold the most promise for seeing the highest diversity of grassland birds in the largest numbers existing as they have for thousands of years.  That’s what I want to see.