Precious Reserves

Visiting central Nebraska, we learned that water is precious. Sandhill cranes have depended on the wetlands of the Platte River for thousands of years. Central pivot irrigation has depleted the High Plains aquifer reserves to the point of crisis. Paul Johnsgard wrote in his book, Earth, Water and Sky, “The price tag on our cranes is simply this: we must be willing to protect from destruction the wonderful river that crosses Nebraska like a beautiful quicksilver necklace, the Platte River.” Our world exists in a precarious balance with nature. What lies beneath the surface of the earth is the “Fort Knox” of our future—the Precious Reserves.