Nebraska Grasslands
Eastern Nebraska was once a vast tall grass prairie. Huge herds of buffalo fanning out for miles, as far as the eye could see. Few trees grew for long because fires, started by electrical storms and fanned by the wind periodically killed most trees, rejuvenating the prairie grasses and forbs (wildflowers).
To the European pioneers, used to living in the heavily wooded Eastern States, it was a barren waste land. The periodic fires that swept the prairies for thousands of years were a danger that had to be controlled.
Even today some people from other parts of the country make derogatory comments about there being nothing here, Nebraska, the state to sleep through while traveling.
Today, farms and homes are recognized by small areas of trees, often rectangular. Along fence rows, where the plow does not reach, thickets of wild plum and sumac grow providing habitat for many birds and animals. In low areas where small streams meander, more shrubs and trees are able to escape the plow and grow.
The major portion of the landscape is covered in our modern substitute for the native prairie grasses and forbs, the grains that feed americans, and which are exported all over the world. The buffalo herds were all slaughtered and in their place cattle are now raised for slaughter.
