June 2026 • Nebraskaland 71
Today in my rearview mirror, I see with clarity the
privilege I've had, camera in hand, to show the world
how North America's cranes connect habitats and people
along the Central Flyway; how a lingering wildness still
survives across the 1 million square miles that is the Great
Plains ecosystem; and how a team of like-minded souls
can capture change over time across the Platte Basin by
following a drop of water from mountains to plains and
witness a watershed in motion, build community, and help
grow the next generation of conservation storytellers.
In that mirror I also see an older and grayer me.
Looking forward through the glare of a bug-stained
windshield, admittedly the future is harder to see. But what
I know is there are stories that want to be told and people
who need to tell them. And that is why this magazine is so
important. Our relationship with the land and what we hold
dear is really one big, unfurling, never-ending story. We
share, care, learn and grow together by telling these stories.
Here's to another 100 years, Nebraskaland. I am grateful.
N
Photographed with a time-lapse camera,
a mountain lion pauses at sunrise above
the banks of the North Platte River at
State Line Ranch, Colorado.
Michael Forsberg, a Lincoln native, was a full-time member
of the Nebraskaland Magazine staff from 1993 to 1999. He
has since published three books, co-founded the Platte Basin
Timelapse and received numerous awards for his conservation
writing and photography. A faculty member in the School of
Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and
a Senior Fellow with the International League of Conservation
Photographers, he continues to contribute to Nebraskaland.
