The Prairie
I believe a leaf of grass is no less than the journey-work of the stars.
Walt Whitman
About
Through an eternity of years, the sacred journey of nature created the landscape of the Great Plains. From the uplift of mountains that caused a rain shadow with less precipitation to the last glacial advance of ice, sun and wind, the prairie evolved. Gradually, the grasses grew and waving fields of green and gold blanketed this part of our continent.
When the Native People made the land their home, they forged a spiritual relationship with the surrounding environment. They called the Earth their Mother, the Sky their Father. The Trees spoke to them and the Animals became their Brothers and Sisters. The Native People of the Grasslands lived off Plant Roots, Vegetables, and Berries. They hunted Bison, Deer, Antelope, and Elk that also called the Grassland home, and they honored the spirit of each Animal that gave up its life to humans.
Later, when the explorers and settlers arrived, they viewed the vast sweeping land with expectation. Traveling across the large, rolling terrain, they found adventures and new homes. It was only a matter of a few years before their beliefs in man’s dominion over the earth and their ways of conquering nature and its resources changed the character of our country‘s relationship to the land and the character of the prairie.
The Grasslands continued to thrive, turning into a vast green inland sea strong enough to face the sun’s bright heat, the wind’s brutality, and winter’s freezing temperatures. Although the blades of green faded each year, the prairie kept returning, covering the land and connecting with any inhabitants that could endure those conditions.
In the beginning of the USA, the protection and preservation of abundant natural habitats did not claim our country’s attention. Here and throughout the world, as civilizations moved forward, gradually millions of habitat areas began to disappear, absorbed into housing developments, industrial use, and increased farmland.
Some lands are flat and grass-covered and smile so evenly up at the sun that they seem forever youthful.
Loren Eisely, THE SLIT, The Eisley Reader
The Land of Turkey Creek Preserve
In Listen to the Land, Dave Foreman wrote, “In this country, wilderness preservation has focused on scenic rocks and ice above timberline, while giving up more important lower elevation forests. We’ve ignored grassland areas, river bottoms, places that might not be as spectacular or as suited for recreation but that are more important from a biodiversity standpoint.” This point, well taken by those paying attention to imperiled creatures and plants, includes those involved in creating Turkey Creek Preserve.
Located a few miles from Omaha and the Missouri River, Turkey Creek Preserve dedicates its enclosed land, over 900 acres, to the sacred purpose of transitioning back into an Eastern Nebraska natural environment for plants, birds, animals, insects, and other creatures of the wild. As our goal progresses toward gradually reverting this unique property back to habitat conditions similar to the 1700’s, plants that thrived back in pioneer times now find a home within our boundaries, and creatures seeking sustenance abide in peace at Turkey Creek Preserve.
During the North American Ice Ages, glaciers advanced over our country’s mid-continent, grinding the underlying rock into a fine powder called “glacial flour.” After the ice melted and the land dried, the wind blew enormous amounts of sediment over the Missouri River Valley. This loosely packed combination is called loess soil.
Set in the Nebraska Loess Hills, the rolling terrain of Turkey Creek Preserve anchors us to the natural environment of the Missouri River Valley. The unique loess soil found here combines the rich deposits with the staying powers of clay. This beneficial merger provides a fertile ground for the roots of native and non-native grasses.
