In rural places in our divided land we can’t just pick sides and trash each other. But if we do, somebody — a friend, a loved one, or even a sometime enemy — might tug on our sleeves and remind us about the better angels of our nature. At a public meeting last year, Joe Schlessiger’s farmland neighbors were arguing once again. Joe stood himself up, all 6 feet, 6 inches of Kansas farmer. The topic once again: Spanish energy company Acciona’s proposal to build a solar energy array near Barton County’s Cheyenne Bottoms. The Bottoms are enthralling to those who love nature — 41,000 acres of the largest inland wetland in the United States. It’s a migration stopover for roughly two million birds every year — everything from white-faced ibis dancing on long stick legs to endangered whooping cranes that make pit stops there in spring and fall. The birds prance, squawk and swell the cloud storage of wildlife photographers.
Source: Wichita Eagle
