TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Introduction
- GEOGRAPHY - CLIMATE - BIOLOGY
- The Physical Setting of the Big Bend Region
- Climate
- Plants
- Rainwater Basin
- Vertebrates of the Central Platte Region
- Birds
- Mammals
- Fish
- Amphibians and Reptiles
- Tradition of the Sandhill Cranes
- Viewing the Cranes
- Outdoor Recreational Opportunities
- REGIONAL HISTORY, LITERATURE, AND ART
- The Big Bend: A History of Human Settlement
- Country School Legacy
- Platte River Writers: Literature of the Big Bend Region
- Mari Sandoz and the Platte River
- Nellie Snyder Yost: Trail End Historian
- Loren Eisley and the Flow of the River
- Paul Johnsgard and the Harmony of Nature
- Wright Morris: Platte River Roots
- Contemporary Poets of Nebraska: A Study in Epiphany
- Nineteenth Century Artists in the Big Bend Region
- The Museum of Nebraska Art
- ECONOMICS, DEMOGRAPHICS, AND AGRICULTURE
- Economic Development of the Big Bend Region
- Kearney Cotton Mill: Early Economic Development
- Current Economic Diversification in Dawson County
- Agricultural Productivity
- Social Demographics of the Big Bend Region
- Higher Education
- Language Along the Platte River
- WATER, LAW, AND THE PEOPLE
- Water Law and Policy in Nebraska: Balancing Competing Uses
- Irrigated Agriculture Today: Questions of Water Quantity and Quality
- Limited Water/Competing Uses: The Public Debate
- Privatizing Water: Rational Pricing to Allocate a Scarce Resource
- Privatization and Public Interest
- The Platte Today: Six Narratives
- The Martin Brothers Story: Pinned Together by an Arrow
- The Wahlgren Family: Life on a Platte River Island
- Craig Faanes: An Ornithologist's View of the Platte
- Joe Jeffrey: A Three-Year Battle with the United States Army Corps of Engineers
- Gary Lingle: The Platte River Whooping Crane Maintenance Trust
- Milt Koltrc: Soil Conservation Efforts
Editorial Board
- Allan Jenkins, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Economics
- Susanne K. George, Ph.D., Associate Professor of English
- Elizabeth Barrett, M.A., Instructor of Journalism/Mass Communication
- Kenneth Nikels, Ph.D., Dean of Graduate Studies and Research
- Michael Schyler, Ph.D., Professor of History
- Maps
- Gordon Bennett, M.A., Assistant Professor of Geography
- Art
- Gary Zaruba, Ed.D., Professor of Art
- James M. May, M.A., Assistant Professor of Art
- Kent D. Smith, M.A., Assistant Professor of Art
Publication supported by the Omaha World-Herald Foundation
Published by the University of Nebraska at Kearney, 1993