Preserve the Sandhills

Welcome to Preserve the Sandhills

Our Cookbook is here!

Now is the time to help and support our mission below- Order one of our cookbooks, highlighting incredible meals from the Sandhills. You may not live here, but you can eat like you do! All proceeds go to our mission to Preserve the Sandhills! Message on Facebook

Our Mission:

Preserve the Sandhills was organized to preserve and protect the Nebraska Sandhill, one of the most fragile natural resources in our country. Through education and positive actions, we hope to preserve and protect the Sandhills from High Voltage Power lines, Wind Turbines and commercial Solar Development. We wish to continue and promote the growth of agriculture in the great state of Nebraska, preserve and protect the natural beauty of the Sandhills including the its hills, valleys, rivers, streams, wetlands, wildlife, migratory birds, open vistas and some of the darkest night skies in the western hemisphere, not only for the present generation, but many generations to come. Education is needed to demonstrate the impact of projects, such as those noted above and how extremely destructive they are to the fragility of the Nebraska Sandhills. Several entities stand to be impacted including the land, that is like no other in the United States, the wildlife and the migratory path of the birds, tourism that our area larger depends on, local businesses, the Oglallala Aquifer, the livestock, the ranching industry that the families and people call the Sandhills.

Our Auquifer

The Sandhills is the largest grass stabilized sand dune formation in the Western Hemisphere. We are dedicated to the preservation and protection of the beautiful landscapes and vistas, wildlife and natural resources, life and livelihood unique to the Nebraska Sandhills. Agriculture is the #1 industry in Nebraska and cattle production represents the largest segment of the industry. The Sandhills’ cattle and bison production is an essential part of the state’s economy and food supply for our country and the world. By allowing windturbines in these Sandhills we risk not only the cattle industry but damage to the Ogallala Auquifer as well.

The Ogallala Auquifer is one of the world’s largest aquifers, it underlies an area of approximately 174,000 sq mi (450,000 km2) in portions of eight states (South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas)

The first ranch in the region was established in 1877 by E.S. Newman near the Niobrara River. Since then The Sandhills have become one of the leading producers of cattle in the country. Its pristine grasses and open area create the perfect enviroment that produces some of the best beef anywhere. Windturbines will destroy much of the land, and harm the wildlife as well.

Are the Sandhills THAT Important?

In a new study appearing in the journal Conservation Science and Practice, the researchers found that, of all the temperate grasslands in all the countries in all the world, the Nebraska Sandhills are the most intact. In fact, the duo’s study revealed that the Sandhills are among just seven large-scale grasslands of any type that remain mostly intact. Another resides in the Wyoming Basin, with two others in Asia and one each in Africa, South America and Australia. But even among that select company, the Sandhills stand apart in two regards. For one, they reside next to the third-most converted grassland region in the world — one that includes central and eastern Nebraska, which has been extensively cultivated for agricultural production over the past 150 years. Despite that, Twidwell said, the Sandhills are also the only major intact grassland currently without a formal conservation strategy. (University of Nebraska Office of Research and Developement.

“When we’re talking about carbon and climate change, one of the smartest things we can do is keep grasslands green side up,” Twidwell said. “We’ll have greater carbon storage and sequestration by preventing agricultural conversion, especially for the lower-productive grassland regions that are left.” (University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s Dirac Twidwell)

Nature

The Sandhills are a major stopping point for over 500,000 Sandhills Cranes each Spring as well as over 400 other species of birds. By building the windturbines in the Sandhills, it increases the chances of these birds trying to find somewhere else to breed and nest. Birds striking the turbine blades is common on Windfarms as well.

Wind Reliability. Wind Turbines Could Be a Threat to Wildlife. …
Wind Turbines Could Lead to Noise and Visual Pollution.
Are Expensive to Set Up. … Cost Trade-off. … Safety of People at Risk. …
Wind Power Can Be Harnessed at Certain Locations Only.
Shadow Flicker.
Decomissioned Turbines are often abandoned, leaving the property owners to deal with them.