Nebraskaland

Nebraskaland July 2019

NEBRASKAland Magazine is dedicated to outstanding photography and informative writing with an engaging mix of articles and photos highlighting Nebraska’s outdoor activities, parklands, wildlife, history and people.

Issue link: http://mag.outdoornebraska.gov/i/1136479

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70 Nebraskaland • July 2019 THE LAST STOP By Justin Haag ROLLING WITH THE CHANGES As cliché as the saying may be, it is true that you don't know what you've got until it's gone. When I started getting serious about wildlife photography about a decade ago, there were so many deer in northwestern Nebraska that I became choosy when pushing the shutter button. Then, not long after, an outbreak of epizootic hemorrhagic disease during a period of drought blasted the population, and I began eagerly snapping a photo of every deer I saw. Since then, the population has been rebounding, and I am back to being a little more selective. Yet, because of experience, I surely give more appreciation to every encounter I have with those whitetails and muleys. A botanist friend spoke at a rec ent seminar about his flora surveys in the Pine Ridge, dating back to the 1980s. In the early days, he said, there was so much dwarf juniper (Juniperis communis) on the landscape it was nearly impossible to document it all. Then, catastrophic wildfires roared across much of the Pine Ridge in 2006 and 2012. Along with ponderosa pine, it is still hard to find that coniferous evergreen in those expansive burned areas. I often think of species such as these as I encounter a flock of wild turkeys. Similar to so many animals, Euro-American settlement of the early 1900s pushed them to extirpation in our region. Just in my lifetime, they have gone from being a pretty rare sight to frequent in most places. Reintroduction and conservation efforts have been incredibly successful, and now the big birds are highly abundant throughout Nebraska and beyond. You never know what nature has in store, so I will keep photographing those wild turkeys. Moreover, you just never know when something unusual – such as a fawn white- tailed deer joining the party in the above photo from Sioux County – might play out while I am in the process. I was certainly glad I took the time to stop and observe what appeared to be just another flock of a common species as the playful youngster emerged from the background. Whether we are talking species populations over many years, or chance encounters over moments, the scene may change quickly. Keep your eyes open and your camera ready.

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