Wildlife of Nebraska

In Wildlife of Nebraska: A Natural History, Paul A. Johnsgard surveys the variety and biology of more than six hundred Nebraska species. Narrative accounts describe the ecology and biology of the state’s birds, its mammals, and its reptiles and amphibians, summarizing the abundance, distributions, and habitats of this wildlife. To provide an introduction to the state’s major ecosystems, climate, and topography, Johnsgard examines major public-access natural areas, including national monuments, wildlife refuges and grasslands, state parks and wildlife management areas, and nature preserves. Including more than thirty-five line drawings by the author along with physiographic, ecological, and historical maps, Wildlife of Nebraska is an essential guide to the wildlife of the Cornhusker State.  

“Celebrates the gifts of a half century spent roaming Nebraska’s back roads, trails, and sometimes-forgotten places.”—Nebraska Magazine, “Many scientists and historians have written about the natural history of the Great Plains, but few so compellingly as Paul Johnsgard.”—Annals of Iowa, “A classic of nature writing that combines the keen observance of the scientist with the sensitivity of the naturalist.”—Outdoor Press, “Nature writing at its best.”—Nancy Plain, Roundup Magazine

Paul A. Johnsgard is Foundation Regents Professor Emeritus in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. He has received conservation and research awards from the National Audubon Society, the American Ornithologists’ Union, the National Wildlife Federation, and other state and national organizations. Johnsgard is the author of more than one hundred books on natural history, including Those of the Gray Wind: The Sandhill Cranes; Prairie Dog Empire: A Saga of the Shortgrass Prairie; and The Nature of Nebraska: Ecology and Biodiversity, all available in Bison Books editions.