62 NEBRASKAland • JUNE 2017
W
e still have a lot to learn about the plants and
animals inhabiting blowouts, but I think it's
clear that blowouts can be awfully difficult places to
live. The lack of vegetation means there is no place
to hide from the hot sun and predators, and the sand
is constantly shifting beneath your feet (or roots).
Burrowing beneath the sand seems like a good
idea, but even then the sand just blows your tunnel
shut.
Sandhills ranchers are unlikely to change their
unfavorable attitudes toward blowouts, and I get
that. However, blowouts are a natural and integral
part of the Sandhills, and even the most careful
grazing management won't completely eliminate
them. As long as there are choppy hills and strong
winds there will be blowouts. While that might be
an unsettling reality for ranchers, it helps ensure the
survival of many other members of the Sandhills
community. Those other citizens might not pay taxes
but they certainly work for their living.
■
Above: A beetle makes its way across a broad expanse of
bare sand.
Below: A sand wasp cleans out the entrance of its burrow
as wind gusts blow sand right back in.
