The Sandhills landform was created out of the sediments eroded from the Rocky Mountains by Pleistocene glaciers (2.8M – 12,000 years ago), deposited and shaped by winds to heights over 300 feet and stabilized by an extremely diverse group of grassland plants. What can be seen today is a mixed grass prairie covering more than 19,000 square miles or 25% of the state. These Sandhills also overlie the immense Ogallala aquifer which appears as many wetlands and shallow lakes. The region was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1984 that provides nesting habitat for declining prairie bird species, as well as wetland species from waterfowl to Marsh Wrens. It is now also home to over half a million cattle and very few people making it an excellent destination for naturalists.

We will journey the 225 miles to Valentine, NE on Friday, June 26 to experience this vast prairie and search for the prairie and western species breeding there each summer.

For more information - contact Bill Huser at billfhuser@gmail.com

Photo credit USFWS, 10/14/2021