44 Nebraskaland • January-February 2025
ABOVE: Fibers shed from the sword-shaped leaves of a soapweed
plant at the Thompson Natural History Preserve.
BELOW: An orange-crowned warbler moves along the branches of a
buckthorn shrub.
OPPOSITE: Walkers visit the concrete trails south of the Chadron
State College campus.
As studies show people are becoming
less connected to nature, such "urban"
slices of the wild are important, and
every community should make the
most of what they have. Whenever
I see Chadron kids have parked their
bikes and gathered at the pond's muddy
banks to pursue bullfrogs and sunfish, I
know the Thompsons would be happy
with their investment. I'm even a little
envious of those kids.
When I was growing up in the village
of Danbury in the southwestern corner
of the state, there was no pond or trail
system to explore so conveniently.
Regardless, my best friend and I made
the most of whatever nature we could
find. In our minds, the strips of trees
along properties owned by the school
and village might as well have been
100,000-acre forests, and were enough
to rouse our sense of adventure.
That sense is rekindled every
time I enter the Thompson Natural
History Preserve. Wildest place in the
Panhandle? Surely not. But it is wild
enough.
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