I came across an Ecotourism booklet.I read that 93% of the land in Nebraska is privately owned and that means what is left of the Great Plains grasslands. All the plains in the world from Mongolia to the African savannah are areas of huge biodiversity. Most of the prairie here as disappeared ploughed and planted with soy, wheat and around locally I see corn fields everywhere. I wondered what so much corn could be used for and could only think of corn syrup, but it is also used for ethanol and I notice that the regular petrol contains 15% ethanol.
What you see from the air is mostly this.
In Catherland just south of Red Cloud is patch of original prairie that somehow never got plowed up. It is now a 612 nature reserve now known as the Willa Cather Memorial Prairie acquired by the Foundation and is being managed to restore it to its pre 1900 condition. It is full of diverse plants, insects and birds.
Wish there was more prairie and less ploughing up. We really do need as much biodiversity as possible.