Two nominees from the Nebraska National Forests & Grasslands, recently won awards at the annual National Grassland Managers’ Meeting hosted by the National Grasslands Council.
The Black Hills Parks & Forests Association won the Grasslands Prairie Partner Award; and Kelly Waage, Rangeland Specialist from the Fort Pierre Ranger District won the Grassland Educational Award. Kelly’s award was for her book and research about homesteading in the Fort Pierre area, The Hope Seekers: The Homesteading History of the Fort Pierre National Grassland, which is now in a working draft and will be available to the public soon.
The Grassland Educational Award, was presented to Kelly Waage for her important work to document homesteading history in the Fort Pierre National Grassland area from 1890 – 1940.
Kelly said, “The Fort Pierre Ranger District staff are often asked about homesteaders, so in 2018 I volunteered to compile information that could be used to meet this public need. Not only that, I wanted to honor the many women and men who came to this land looking for a better life; their strength and grit are to be commended and remembered.”
Kelly conducted her research as an ancillary duty, and as time allowed. In 2020 she summarized her results in a delightful 120-page book titled The Hope Seekers: The Homesteading History of the Fort Pierre National Grassland. Maps and pictures reveal the post offices, churches, and schools once scattered throughout the landscape, while the narrative tells the fate of the 886 land patents involved. Additional topics include tiny towns, the railroad, and the Reed Ranch Research Station. Among the best highlights of the book, is the recounting of family stories.
The BHPFA who has been a non-profit partner with the National Grasslands Visitor Center (NGVC) since 2008 and the NNFG since 2015, and has provided important support and aid for all three of the NNFG’s National Grasslands in South Dakota and Nebraska. Their long-term relationship with the NGVC in Wall, SD, reaches far beyond NNFG borders, as they represents all 21 National Grasslands throughout the United States. They typically provide annual assistance of over $5,000 in funds generated from their sales to their partners, which benefits and enhance interpretive visitor services. Annual events supported by the NNFG and Black Hills Parks and Recreation such as:
–Little Wings on the Prairie (Fort Pierre, SD): introduces elementary and pre-school children to the importance of pollinators.
-Find Your Park Festival: Hosted by Mount Rushmore Society, BHPFA worked with organizers to made sure the NGVC & NNFG were invited to participate
-Jewel Cave National Monument 200 Mile celebration: BHPFA co-hosted the celebration and invited the NNFG/NGVC to each have booths during the 3-day event
-HMERC (Hudson-Meng Educational and Research Center) Annual Open House: staff have attended activities
In 2021, planned proposals include: virtual celebrations of “birthdays” for the National Grasslands, Smokey Bear, the NNFG, and other partners. They have also provided social media platforms celebrating and promoting spring public grouse viewing blinds, a burrowing owl hike, Migratory Bird Day, National Trails Day, Public Lands Day, National Pollinator and National Grasslands Week, National Fossil Day, and National Bison Day, to name a few.
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