Platte Valley Review

This edition of Platte Valley Review was reviewed by:
UNK English, 202A TMHL
905 West 25th Street
Kearney, NE 68847
Phone 308-865-8672 / Fax 308-865-8411 / <pvr@unk.edu>

Editor: Allison Hedge Coke
Managing Editor: Travis Hedge Coke
Advising Editor: Robert Ficociello
Cover Design: Travis Hedge Coke
Type Setting: Laura McAtee
Editorial Assistants: Laura McAtee
Jurors: Simmons Buntin, Sherwin Bitsui, Pam Uschuk, Greg Kosmicki, and Diane Glancy

The University of Nebraska at Kearney is home to the annual global leadership gathering, the UNK James E. Smith Midwest Conference on World Affairs, and is located in the Platte Valley epicenter of the annual Sandhill Crane migration. The migration has taken place on the Platte River for 45 to 60 million years. Skeletal remains indicate that the cranes are today what they were then. The cranes have influenced language (including written Indigenous languages), culture, and human social conditioning for as long as people have witnessed them. At one time the cranes were literally near extinction, now, with protection by the State of Nebraska at this precious life center, they have advanced their population to around 600,000 birds. This is a small fraction of the original numbers, but is testimony to the resiliency of nature and proof of preservation success. The cranes travel to the Platte as their staging grounds for the entire year, coming in from Texas, New Mexico, Mexico, Arizona, and California, staying in the Platte vicinity for two months, feeding, dancing, and socializing, before heading to points north North America, the Arctic region, and some onward to Siberia. They are integral to life as we know it and we honor them and the sustaining Platte River with this shared literary work.

By Contacts

Senior Editor A.A. Hedge Coke: pvr@unk.edu

Managing Editor Travis Hedge Coke: pvr@unk.edu