Members of the UNMC and Nebraska Medicine community are invited to a presentation on “Ecotourism on the Great Plains,” at noon on Nov. 17 in the Sorrell Center, Room 2018.
Once the Great Plains was covered in sweeping seas of grass that stretched from the Missouri River to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Now, much of it is used for farming. Only 1 percent to 3 percent of the tallgrass prairie remains while slightly larger areas of mixed and shortgrass prairie hang on thanks to ranching operations and the rugged terrain.
Since much of the land is privately owned, the hope of buying up large chunks for reserves is unlikely to work in Nebraska and nearby states. But there’s another concept that has taken hold in other parts of the world that could be transplanted to the Plains.
Learn about how the future of the Great Plains’ wild areas can be protected and transformed by the concept of nature-based tourism often called ecotourism.
Join Katie Nieland, assistant director and communications coordinator at the Center for Great Plains Studies at the University of Nebraska, as she shares the story behind the posters she created for the Great Plains Ecotourism Coalition, now on display at The Durham Museum. Nieland is a former graphic artist for the Chicago Tribune and a graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s College of Journalism and Mass Communications.
Employees are encouraged to bring a lunch.
The event is offered through the Time Travelers partnership, which provides free museum admission for UNMC and Nebraska Medicine employees, students and their immediate families, with valid identification. The partnership also offers lectures, workshops and other events on the medical center campus.