58 NEBRASKAland • JUNE 2016
T
he weather in Nebraska is crazy. From day to day
and year to year, you never know what might happen.
From all indications, the coming decades are only
going to get crazier. We're likely to see more intense storms
and longer hotter droughts. That will create a number of
challenges for people, of course, but also for wildlife and
the habitats they rely on. Grasslands play a huge role in
supporting Nebraska's economy, through both ranching and
recreational opportunities. A broad diversity of plants and
animals define and drive the ecology and productivity of
grasslands. That diversity will also be the key to ensuring
the future of grasslands.
Nebraska's grasslands are naturally resilient. They
have survived thousands of years of wild climate swings,
including droughts that lasted for many decades at a time.
Prairies bounced back easily from numerous bouts of intense
grazing by hordes of bison and plagues of locusts. Frequent
fires kept trees at bay, but made prairie plant and animal
communities stronger. The changes we're seeing in climate
these days should be no problem for Nebraska grasslands,
except that today's grasslands are not quite the same as they
were back in the day. We can't turn back the clock, but there
are ways we can help those grasslands regain and sustain
much of that old resilience.
Grassland Resilience
in a Changing Climate
Story and photos by Chris Helzer
The size and diversity in the Nebraska
Sandhills, including The Nature
Conservancy's Niobrara Valley Preserve
in Brown County, help build ecological
resilience in those grasslands.
