The Prairie Plains Resource Institute got its start
16 years ago when its founders gathered seeds from prairie grasses
near Aurora, Neb., and planted them along a muddy creek in town. By
restoring this small 15-acre corridor, “we were making a new
history,” says institute manager Bill Whitney. Since then the land
trust has sponsored environmental education programs and preserved
donated prairie lands across Nebraska. Most recently, it acquired a
5,000-acre ranch that will house an education center and
public-meeting place along with a small ranching operation. Whitney
says the institute doesn’t want to freeze time in the 1800s by
managing lands as “museum pieces.” The group takes an active
approach to preserving land through prescribed burning and grazing
experiments, he says, as well as becoming involved in community
development and offering natural history classes for children and
adults. “We’ll try anything – carefully,” says Whitney. Each year,
the institute publishes the 60-page Prairie Plains Journal, with
updates on its projects, plus artwork, poetry and tributes to old
friends. For more information, or a copy of the journal, write to
Prairie Plains Resource Institute, 1307 L St., Aurora, NE
68818-2126, or call 402/694-5535.
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Making history on the prairie.
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