2023NebraskaBookAwardIntheNebraskaSandhills,ranchersonhorsebackandinpickuptruckssharetherangewithpronghornantelope,burrowingowls,andlong-billedcurlews.Thenativegrassesgrowgreenerasthecattlegrowfatter.Throughouttheregion,riverottersandminkswiminstreamsnourishedbyspringsbubblingupfromtheHighPlains(Ogallala)aquifer.Overyearsofcloseobservation,StephenR.JoneshasgottentoknowtheNebraskaSandhills--thetwenty-thousand-square-mileexpanseofstunningprairieandthrivingwetlands.Hehasfeltthewarmbreathofawhite-taileddoeguardingherspottedfawn,learnedtocommunicatewithafamilyoflong-earedowls,anddevelopedanimprobablehikingrelationshipwithawildturkey.Hehasdocumentedabreedingbirdpopulationthatisgrowingmorediverseandwitnessedthelong-awaitedreturnofnestingtrumpeterswans.Thesepersonalstories,accompaniedbywordsofinsightfromNativeAmericanleaders,Sandhillsranchers,andgrasslandecologists,helpusenvisionaquietrelationshipwiththenaturalworld.
