Born of defiance, sustained by tradition

“We believe that over the next generation, the Plains will, as a result of the largest, longest-running agricultural and environmental miscalculation in American history, become almost totally depopulated.” With that sweeping assertion, Frank J. Popper introduced the concept of the Buffalo Commons in his 1987 article, “The Great Plains: From Dust to Dust,” published in Planning, the professional journal of the American Planning Association.

Popper’s proposal called for much of the Great Plains to be “deprivatized” and returned to its pre-colonial state—a vast preserve of native prairie and roaming buffalo. He and his wife, Deborah, suggested that the future of the region lay not in continued settlement and cultivation, but in ecological restoration and depopulation. It was a provocative vision, and it struck a nerve across the rural Midwest.

Here in McCook, the response was swift and spirited. We took umbrage at the implication that the region’s best days were behind it, and in 1997, channeled that indignation into something enduring: the Buffalo Commons Storytelling and Music Festival. With characteristic western independence and no small dose of good humor, the term was used as a badge of honor; repurposed to celebrate the stories, songs, and shared heritage that define the people of Southwest Nebraska.

The Poppers did not recant. Instead, they expanded their theory in later academic works. In 1999, they published “The Buffalo Commons: Metaphor as Method,” in which they argued that the concept served not merely as a policy suggestion but as a metaphor to evoke the landscape’s essential qualities. They proposed a flexible framework for regional renewal, one that could include modern innovations such as new irrigation techniques or crops alongside conservation.

In 2006, the Poppers traced the intellectual lineage of their idea in “The Buffalo Commons: Its Antecedents and their Implications.” They identified predecessors dating back to George Catlin’s 1842 vision of a Great Plains Park. They argued that the region’s long history of transformation had come at great ecological and social cost. While the Buffalo Commons remained controversial, they suggested it would continue to resonate in policy and planning circles.

Today, the Poppers remain active in academia. As of 2025, they both hold visiting faculty positions in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Princeton University. Frank Popper is also Professor Emeritus at Rutgers University’s Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy. Their work remains a touchstone for scholars of land use and rural depopulation, though it remains deeply contested here on the High Plains.

We revisit this history not to revive old wounds, but to honor the resilience behind the festival that bears the name. Since its founding, the Buffalo Commons Storytelling and Music Festival has become the cultural highlight of the year in McCook. It brings world-class storytellers, musicians, visual artists, historians, and educators to town for a weekend filled with laughter, memory, and inspiration. Events range from dinner cabarets and historic tours to children’s activities, poetry readings, and open mic sessions—all rooted in the spirit and soil of the region.

We encourage our readers to take part in this three-day celebration of life in Southwest Nebraska. It remains one of the finest expressions of our heritage, and a gentle yet pointed reminder that our stories are not only worth telling—they are still being written.