SANDHILLS STEWARDS
PROTECTING AND ENHANCING THE SANDHILLS WITH PROFITABLE, ENJOYABLE BUSINESSES
About
The members of the Sandhills Task Force believe the best way to protect the Sandhills is to help empower the individual landowners. A producer’s livelihood is tied directly to the land, fostering an intimate relationship that isn’t easily duplicated.
This land is a unique ecosystem that is an essential habitat for various fish, birds, plants, and wildlife. Its landowners are the backbone of the area’s ranching economy, and the viability of the numerous small communities scattered throughout the Sandhills depends on their success.
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Our Goals
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Share and spread our enthusiasm for stewardship of the unique natural resources of our area.
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Understand the producers’ challenges in our area and help bring them the ideas, tools, and resources they need most to succeed.
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Encourage connection and strong community engagement to ensure that the Sandhill region remains a strong and independent region in our great state.
Our Vision
Sandhills Stewards is a program designed to help bring our Sandhills producers the tools they need most to succeed. Ultimately it is a network of producers throughout the Sandhills that share common values that use those values to help shape the culture of our area. We believe that strong communities and local connections are the most effective way to implement the changes we want to see around us.
Meet the Coordinator
Cody Trump
Cody Trump grew up ranching in the sandhills, where some of his earliest memories were riding across the sandhills, moving cattle, and going to brandings. Most summers were spent Haying, fencing, moving cows, and working with 4-H calves. He also spent two years working for the fish and wildlife service, which helped grow his desire to work in a mutually beneficial field for both ranching and wildlife. After graduating high school, Cody went to Chadron State College, where he majored in Rangeland Livestock Management and minored in agribusiness, animal science, and equine management. It was also at CSC that Cody met his wife Jayde, and after attending The West Institute, a seminary master’s program in Laramie, Wyoming, they were married. They currently live in Chadron, and some of his favorite activities include hunting, fishing, grazing cattle, and training horses. He is looking forward to growing the Sandhills Stewards Program and being a resource for the community of ranchers he grew up in.
Contact
Sandhills Stories
Sandhills Stories is a Podcast featuring ranchers who live and work in the nearly 20 thousand square mile area known as the sandhills of Nebraska. The unique landscape of rolling sand dunes covered in native grass is known as one of the largest intact temperate grasslands in the world. Ranching is a way of life here, and it's how most people in the area make a living. The Sandhills Task Force (a non-profit that works with area ranchers) wanted to share the stories that rarely get told outside of a branding pen or small local gathering. Join Cody in his travels and visits with ranchers all across the sandhills.
