The Sandhills Task Force

The Sandhills Task Force, a coalition of ranchers, conservationists and government, works to control erosion in the highly fragile area once known as the Great American Desert. Jumbo Fen, a revitalized natural peat wetland that lies in a picturesque valley in Cherry County, is one of many resource success stories.

The Taskforce, working with the Nature Conservancy, has set aside this rare peat wetland for a five-year recovery period, recognizing both its limited value as rangeland and its intrinsic values for wildlife. Tens of thousands of years old, the marsh had deteriorated as landowners had fought a losing battle to graze cattle. The grant provided funding to purchase the fen, restore it and then sell it back to a producer for limited livestock use. The proceeds of the sale will be used to restore another fen or wetland site.

"Someday, when this land goes back to production, they'll try to pasture it a little. They'll get some good out of it, but its not good pasture. For a rancher, its one of those deals where the juice may be not worth the squeeze," according to Byron Eatinger, a rancher and member of the Task Force.

Audio clips: Wissenhunt Audio (200 Kb) Eatinger Audio (150 Kb)

Doug Whissenhunt, a staff member of the Nature Conservancy, said, "There are almost 900 acres of fen here. It's a small piece of the world but this is where the rubber meets the road. This is where you do the work that accomplishes what you're after."

"The Trust provides a valuable source of seed money that other groups like to donate to or to become participants in a project because the Trust is perceived as being a potential funder. They know that the project will be real if the Trust comes on board because they do have the money to put. Otherwise, a lot of these organizations don't have enough money, even collectively, to accomplish to goal. If the Trust gets on board, its going to be a real project. They're a major player."

"There's certainly a tremendous need for these funds," say's Eatinger. "We never will have all the money to fund everything we'd like. Our relationship with the Trust is a two way street. We're the ones out here that find the projects that need to be done, and they're the ones that can fund them and so, it's a good relationship as I see it."

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