“There is a timeless wisdom that survives failed economies and wars. It is a nameless wisdom stressed by all people. It is understanding how to live a decent life, how to behave properly towards other people and the land. (Barry Lopez).

I am a writer, a member of Audubon Nebraska and a friend of Spring Creek Prairie. I walk on it in all seasons. I dig up milk thistles on hot Saturday mornings. I attend its festivals and its sunsets. I visit it alone when I need stillness and solitude.

Next summer I plan to take my two-year-old granddaughter to Spring Creek Prairie. As she grows up, I hope it will be part of the landscape of her life.

Since I have been an established writer, I have shown our prairie to many visitors including, on separate occasions, A New York Times reporter and the head of the European Clinical Psychology. As we walked, both of them became silent and their breathing slowed down. The reporter said, “I know why live in Nebraska.” Enjoying an August sunset, the psychologist from Scotland said, “This was worth the trip.” I thought he meant from my house, be he added, “From Scotland, I mean.”

My writers’ group, all nationally published, spends time together on the prairie. We call ourselves Prairie Trout, and regard, as sources of our inspiration, the birds, the big sky, the silence and the grasses in all their different colors.

After Bob Dylan wrote “Blowin’ In The Wind,” someone asked him what he meant by the phrase. He said, “If you have ever listened to the wind blow, you know what I mean. If you haven’t, I can’t explain it.”

I feel that way today. Who can measure the effects of bird song, the breeze blowing through tall grasses or the beauty of prairie orchids? The things cannot be discussed in terms of money. They are a different order of value. They keep us human, grounded and sane. They give us joy, peace and a connection to something much larger and older than ourselves.

This proposed motocross track would deeply interfere with our prairie and substantially diminish its ability to give us its gifts. I cannot imagine the reactions of my friend from around the world to the roar of motorbikes on our beautiful, pristine prairie. I don’t want to ponder what my granddaughter will miss if this permit is approved. In our noisy, machine-filled world, there are few magic patches left. Spring Creek Prairie is one of them. I urge you to visit it and to protect it for yourselves, for all of us, and for our children and their children.

Thank you

Dear County Board Members,

I am writing in regard to the special permit request for a motocross track north of Spring Creek Prairie. I’d like to start by admitting that I would not want your job as commissioner, but I am grateful to women and men like you who are willing to do this work. I appreciate that the task before you is not easy and I know you are all good people trying to make the best decision possible.

Motocross is a fun sport, and it deserves the time and space the developers are hoping to give it. However, I submit there are more appropriate locations for it than next to a serene and beautiful prairie. My husband runs a truck stop out on West O Street. When I told him about my sadness about the potential harm that may soon befall the prairie, he commented that there is so much land right out near his business that would be perfect for a motocross track. The land south of O Street along the railroad track is hilly and undeveloped. It’s close to the city and the noise created by racing would be negligible compared to the railroad and airport noise already part of the area’s atmosphere. As an added bonus, many of the neighbors would be delighted to see motocross fans and participants frequenting the area.

In the public hearing on February 24, it was claimed by proponents for the track that they cannot find a better place for their chosen business. I don’t believe that is true, and I hope you don’t either. ?Please tell the proponents for the track to keep looking until they find a place that is suited for, not just expedient to, their needs.

I have two children: a sixteen-year-old boy who would love to see a motocross track in Lancaster County, and a ten-year-old girl who loves to walk the trails and study the wildlife on the prairie. This is only one example of the differences between them that I negotiate on a daily basis. I do my best to ensure that the needs and wants of one do not override the needs and wants of the other. It’s not an easy task, as I’m sure you can appreciate. Sometimes, the solution is a matter redirecting. I believe that’s the solution to the issue of before the commission at this time. Direct the motocross proponents to find a place that will not harm our natural treasures, please.

I know you have heard from others about the importance of the prairie as an educational center, research facility and wildlife sanctuary. I agree with all those points, but for me the issue is also very personal. Let me explain. A friend and I were walking on Spring Creek Prairie on the morning of September 11, 2001. It was a blue-sky-beautiful morning filled with birdsong and the whisper of a breeze through the prairie grasses. A man was moving cattle off to the south of the trail we walked, and we heard him call “here, Boss” to the cattle. Have you ever heard a man call his cattle with that phrase? I hadn’t heard it since my grandfather sold his cattle nearly thirty-five years ago. In that moment, on that prairie, I felt entirely connected to the history of my family, to my state, even to this world. I was completely happy standing there on that spot, just listening. When our walk ended, we came back to the news that our nation had been attacked. I have returned to the prairie dozens of times since that morning for the solace only the prairie can give. I beg of you, do not let anyone destroy that peace.