Follow acclaimed Nebraska photographer Michael Forsberg as he examines what wildness remains in the 11 states that comprise the Great Plains, exploring the places and creatures that remain after 150 years of settlement.
“Great Plains: America’s Lingering Wild,” airing Sunday, Nov. 25, at 8:30 p.m. CT, repeating Wednesday, Nov. 28 at 7 p.m. CT on NET1 and NET-HD, is based on Forsberg’s book of the same name.
Despite its size, the Great Plains is a fragile and threatened ecosystem and home to a variety of wildlife and habitats. North Dakota’s Missouri Coteau is the breeding ground for more than half of North America’s ducks. Texas’ playa wetlands sustain insects, mammals, birds and reptiles. Large herds of elk and pronghorn live on the C.M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge in Montana. Bison roam on vast tracts of land in South Dakota. And in Nebraska, Iowa and Kansas, native prairies are being restored, one small patch at a time. “Great Plains: America’s Lingering Wild” introduces some of the people who care for and preserve our natural heritage.
Nebraska segments highlight the Platte River Valley in south central Nebraska where over half a million Sandhill cranes make their way through a 50-mile stretch on their spring migration. And, along the central Platte Valley near Aurora, Nebraska, a group of land stewards have spent decades restoring the prairie.
“Great Plains: America’s Lingering Wild,” funded in part by the Nebraska Humanities Council, the Nebraska Environmental Trust, the Nebraska Cultural Endowment and the Nebraska Academy of Sciences, is a co-production of NET Television and Michael Forsberg Photography.