PEACE ON THE PLAINS

We in the East don’t often think about that portion of the United States called the Plains. Those of you who are old enough may remember Disney’s docu-mentary The Vanishing Prairie. Even in 1954 some people realized how we were encroaching on this wonderful gift of nature. Now it faces even greater threats.

This past week the federal government stated that it will open vast stretches of the prairie, home to the endangered sage grouse as well as all those other little critters seen in the old documentary, to oil and gas drilling. Once the habitat is destroyed, there is little, if any, possibility of regaining it. There will be no peace on the plains as giant equipment moves in satisfying the corporate interests that Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke once worked for.

Just as we want other parts of the Nation to care for the environmental threats we face here on our shoreline, we should care about similar concerns on the plains. Advent is a season of hope and peace. In order to maintain peace on the plains created by God, we must speak up for the sage grouse or they, too, will become like the Trufala trees in Dr. Seuss’ book The Lorax.

––Pastor Joyce