Alone, unnerved, and couldn’t sleep. The sun set around 2 am and the fire in my teepee diminished to an ember. I was south of Fairbanks, Alaska on the edge of a pine forest not knowing if a bearskin blanket would keep me warm. After an encounter with a large cow moose that left me rattled only a few hours earlier, I laid awake, wondering why I was there. After six hours passed, I threw open the flap of my teepee and stepped outside. Taking a deep breath, I felt my nerves subsiding. The smell of pine and the sound of birds chirping finally made me realize why I was there. With a smile on my face, I went about my day.
Nature has been central in my life. My first five years were spent playing on 16 acres in a northern Idaho forest - picking wild raspberries, getting water from a small stream on the edge of our property, and watching bats circle the single yard light. This was the time for a wild young imagination to roam free. At six, I moved to the heart of the northern plains in South Dakota and discovered new aspects of nature. Instead of thick forests and mountain streams, there were rolling grasslands and roaming cows. My environment changed, but my need to be part of it did not.
Growing up in these environments has left me with a deep desire to sustain them. The idea of future generations not having these experiences imparts a sense of responsibility to leave the land as I found it and minimize the impacts of human activities. This drives my want to conserve our native prairies and clean our watersheds while educating the community on the importance of leaving the earth better than we found it, not letting the status quo continue just because, and what is possible when we give a damn. We only have one earth and we are it’s stewards.
As Aldo Leopold said, “Conservation is a state of harmony between men and land.”
Northern Prairies Land Trust
Northern Prairies Land Trust (NPLT) facilitates and encourages land and water conservation practices by private landowners. It is organized as a land trust in order to accept and hold conservation easements when private landowners choose that tool, but its activities go far beyond those of a simple land trust. NPLT is committed to the proposition that private lands can be managed in a way that achieves the goals of private landowners while simultaneously serving the public need to conserve natural resources and sustain rural and agricultural communities.
Friends of the Big Sioux River
Our vision is to restore and ensure the health of the Big Sioux River watershed and promote the environmental, recreational, economical use and enjoyment of the river for future generations. Community involvement is critical to achieving our vision and FBSR seeks win-win solutions through strong partnerships and coalitions, with all parts of the community, government, and stakeholders.