The Great Plains: Agriculture and the Environment in the Late Twentieth Century

Abstract

The significance of the environment is as clearly understood by all men and women who live on the Great Plains today as it was by those who settled the region during the nineteenth century. Drought, searing sun, blizzards and sub-zero temperatures, and hail storms with tornadic winds at harvest time continue to make agricultural life on the Great Plains matters of perseverance and adaptation. Although the term environment is well-known, however, the concept of environmentalism is relatively new. And, while it is largely understood in the context of conservation, that is, the protection of nature, those who have lived on the Great Plains have been environmentalists in other contexts throughout the history of the region. In little more than a century, the residents of the plains have used the concepts of the change, control, and preservation of nature to govern their relationships with the en? vironment and, by so doing, make both settlement and agriculture possible on the Great Plains.