In 1820, Major Stephen H. Long described the Nebraska landscape as the Great American Desert, characterized by wide-open prairies and very little to no tree cover. Years later, efforts to change that landscape took hold thanks to key contributors to Nebraska's history. In this episode, we learn about the early efforts to encourage widespread tree cultivation in Nebraska in this 1972 Nebraska History Magazine Article, "Trees but no Timber: Prelude to the Timber Culture Act," by Burton J Williams.