Interpretive Plan Sandhills Journey Scenic Byway

2013 complements the theme of “World Class Natural Wonders” utilized in the Sandhills TheJourney Sandhills Scenic Byway’s (Client) is marketingan iconic American landscape, a land that fundamentally changed the way Americans view the country and themselves.

1 Sandhills Journey Scenic Byway Interpretive Plan Sandhills Journey Scenic Byway Interpretive Plan 2 complements the theme of “World Class EachNatural site Wonders” encompasses utilized in the Sandhills Journey Scenic Byway’s (Client) marketing a unique set of stories that connect the site to the theme and the respective storylines.

3 Sandhills Journey Scenic Byway Interpretive Plan Contents

Project Purpose /5 Storyline 4: The Nature of /37 Project Benefits and Map /5 Stories /39 Project Facts /5 The Birds /39 The Wetland Birds /39 Introduction /7 The Miracle of Migration /40 Thematic Structure /9 Waterfowl /40 Theme /11 Raptors /41 The American Bison /41 Storyline 1: Sea Change /11 The Black-tailed Dog /42 Stories /13 The Inland Sea /13 Thematic Structure Summary /43 Oceans of Grass /13 Theme: /45 The Ocean Beneath Our Feet /14 Storylines: /45 Prairie Rivers /16 Stories: /45

Storyline 2: Two Degrees of Separation /17 Public Engagement /47 Stories /20 Traditional Interpretive Media /49 The Great American /20 Digital Media /52 Necessity and Invention /20 Barbed Wire /22 Measuring Success /53 The American Windmill /23 Benchmarks /55 /25 Baselines /55 Cow Country /25 Measures of Success /56 Increased Visitation /56 Storyline 3 Survive and Thrive /27 Stories /29 References /57 The American Indian /29 The Emigrant Trails /31 The Rule and Role of the Law /31 The Land, The People, and the Legacy /33

Sandhills Journey Scenic Byway Interpretive Plan 4 Project Project Purpose Facts

he purpose of this project is to • The Byway stretches 272 miles through provide for the professional an amazing section of landscape, one of T development of an interpretation the last remaining unplowed prairies in plan for the entire Sandhills Journey Scenic the . Byway (Byway). The Byway interpretive plan • As much as 85% of the Sandhills ecoregion complements the theme of “World Class is intact natural habitat, the highest level in Natural Wonders” utilized in the Sandhills the Great Plains. Journey Scenic Byway’s (Client) marketing plan. The interpretive plan expands on the According to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, route’s intrinsic qualities. The interpretive plan the Sandhills encompasses: includes recommendations of the following interpretive products for the Byway: interpretive • 19,600 square miles panels and/or kiosks, trail markers, smart • Largest grass-stabilized sand formation phone apps, educational maps, and in guidebooks. The interpretive has been • 1.3 million acres of wetlands developed to comply with the Byway’s original • 1 billion acre-feet of groundwater Corridor Management Plan (CMP). • 2.4 million acre-feet of spring-fed streamflow discharged annually

The Byway has been developed to bring this Project iconic part of the American landscape to the attention of the millions across this country and Benefits the world who have no concept of the Sandhills and its ecological and historical significance. and Map

his project benefits the Byway traveler by planning for interpretive signage, T information/ interpretation at points of interest, and other educational products. The Byway follows a major east-west transportation route through central (see map).

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