Through ecotourism operations and an annual Prairie Chicken Festival, the Switzer Ranch realized the immense importance of acting to conserve the Sandhills of Nebraska and their native life.
The ranch, owned and operated since 1904, could not support future generations on the land, so the family had to get creative.
Needing to expand beyond the ranch’s traditional cow-calf operation, they added a business called Calamus Outfitters that offers canoeing, horseback riding and birdwatching expeditions in the stark and beautiful landscape.
Now Birdwatchers flocked to see native birds such as the greater prairie chicken and the sharp-tailed grouse in one of the country’s last intact grasslands.
(WATCH the beautiful video below, or READ the story from WWF)