The Nebraska Sandhills features nearly forty essays about the history, people, geography, geology, ecology, and conservation of the Nebraska Sandhills, illustrated with hundreds of remarkable color photographs of the region.

Foreword Michael J. BoehmIntroduction My Introduction to the Nebraska Sandhills Mary HarnerIntroduction A Kingdom of Grass – The Nebraska Sandhills Michael ForsbergPart I. Sense of Place  1. Tantalizing Clues as to Indigenous Peoples’ Lives in the Sandhills 1a. Humphrey Site Reveals Sandhills’ Apache Presence       John R. (Rob) Bozell and Courtney L.C. Ziska 2. The Turtle at the End of the World    2a. Skidi Pawnee Mythic Journey Roger Echo-Hawk   3. Cheyenne Sanctuary: The Northern Cheyenne Exodus, Mari Sandoz, and Lost Chokecherry Lake  Emily Levine 4. Settlers: Ranchers, Homesteaders, Immigrants     Andrew Pollock   4a. The Black Homesteaders of DeWitty    Richard Edwards 5. Town Life   Mark Harris     6. Nebraska’s Human-made National Forest    Carson Vaughan 7.  An Abandoned Stone Schoolhouse in the Nebraska Sandhills    Ted KooserPart II. Land                         8. Physical Setting of the Sandhills in Maps   R. Matthew Joeckel, Clayton L. Reinier, Paul R. Hanson, Jesse T. Korus. Troy E. Gilmore, and Aaron R. Young 9. The Sandhills Through Time    David Loope, James Swinehart, and Joe Mason 10. What It takes to Form a Giant Dune Field    David Loope, James Swinehart, and Joe Mason 11. The Last Five Million Years of Grasslands and Grazers   11a. Where the Buffalo Roam … or Not Chris Widga 12. Sandhills Grassland, Large Grazers, and Conservative Use    Al Steuter 13. Sandhills Soils – Interactions among Topography, Water, Sand, Vegetation, and Grazers          Martha MamoPart III. Water                        14. Groundwater – How the High Plains Aquifer Shapes the Sandhills   Erin Haacker 15. Sandhills Streams and Rivers as Influenced by Groundwater, Climate, and Humans     15a. The Niobrara -- a National Scenic River 15b. March 2019 Floods Jessica Corman and Troy Gilmore 16. Sandhills Lakes in Space and Time    Sherilyn C. Fritz 16a. Sandhills Alkaline Lakes David Dunigan 17. Diverse Groundwater-Fed Sandhills Wetlands Ted LaGrange    17a. Fens Ted LaGrange and Gerry Steinauer 18. A River in Motion: Platte Basin Timelapse    Michael Farrell, Michael Forsberg, Kim Hachiya, and Mary HarnerPart IV. Climate and Weather 19. The Times They are a Changing – Seasonal, Inter-annual, and Long-term Variability in Sandhills Temperature, Wind, Rain, and Drought    Martha Shulski 20. How and Why Storms Form in the Sandhills: Location, Location, Location 20a. Storm Chasing    Adam Houston 21. When Too Much Water is the Problem: 2019 and the Flooding of the Sandhills   Bethany JohnstonPart V. Sea of Grass 22. The Unique Diversity and Habitat Structure of Sandhills Grasslands 22a. Are the Sandhills Resilient or Fragile? Chris Helzer 23. Sandhills Prairie   Gerry Steinauer 23a. Blowout Penstemon  Cheryl Dunn 24. Grazing Management for Beef Production and Wildlife Habitat 24a. Grazing, Landscapes, and Greater Prairie-chickens Walt Schacht and Larkin Powell 25. Irrigation in the Sandhills   Jerry VoleskyPart VI. Ranching       26. Ranching Through the Seasons: Planned for the Worst. Hoped for the Best.     Sara Sortum    27. Leopold Award Winners    Douglas Norby 28. Rotational Grazing and Sustainable Grasslands   Jim JenkinsPart VII. Wildlife      29. Birds of the Sandhills 29a. Wilson’s Phalarope  29b. Long-billed Curlew Larkin Powell 30. Sandhills’ Inconspicuous Mammals Make the Region Unique   Shaun Dunn   30a. Kangaroo Rats’ Habits Enhance Plant Diversity   Keith Geluso and Jeremy A. White 31. Sandhills’ Sweet Water Lakes are Productive Fisheries   31a. Common Carp: Invasive Scourge Daryl Bauer   32. Herpetofauna Adapt to Sandhills’ Idiosyncratic Landscapes Dennis Ferraro 32a. Blanding’s Turtles: Sandhills Smileys      Ashley Forrester 33. Diverse Landscapes Enrich Insect Diversity and Numbers Jeffrey Bradshaw 33a. American Burying Beetle   33b. Giant Skipper 33c. Sandy Tiger Beetle Steve SpomerPart VIII. Future of the Sandhills   34. Sandhills Task Force 34a. Eastern Red Cedar Shelly Kelly 35. Economy, Ranching, and Ecotourism in the Sandhills   Richard Edwards and Katie Nieland 35a. World-Class Golf Courses   Douglas Norby 36. Demographics of the Sandhills Over Time   Dennis Bauer 37. Local Knowledge and the Future of the Sandhills    Mary Ann Vinton and Jay Leighter    38. Alternative Futures of the Sandhills   Craig Allen and Caleb RobertsSelected Books for Further Insights into the SandhillsAuthor InformationAcknowledgements