Editorial Mission: The Journal publishes peer-reviewed academic and community-based research, commentary and policy articles that address issues related to the Great Plains. We also publish invited articles from leading researchers. Research in a broad range of areas--art to zoology, engineering to modern languages, community development to geography--are appropriate. The only criteria we require is that the information offered is related to the Great Plains. This region--undergoing major change and its accompanying social, economic and infrastructure stress--needs new ideas that flow from research and discussion. OJRRP offers a unique subject-driven platform for this research, while generating conversations through its book reviews and blogs.

News

Rural Veterinary Special Issue
The OJRRP invites authors to submit manuscripts pertaining to the current and future economic, societal, technological, and professional factors influencing rural veterinary practice. [Read More]
Posted: 2009-12-31	More ...
Rural Mass Communications and New Media Special Issue
The Online Journal of Rural Research and Policy, now nearing its fifth year of publication, seeks research and policy papers addressing the impact of new media on news organizations in rural areas, especially in the Great Plains. [Read More]
Posted: 2009-09-23	More ...

More News ...

The tallgrass prairie has persisted in the Flint Hills of east-central Kansas for both biophysical and socioeconomic reasons, and has been one of the key elements in the development of the region. A population boom in the latter part of the 19th century and the subsequent increase in cattle in the 1860s-1870s were key factors in the transition of this landscape into a major cattle grazing region by the turn of the 20th century. At various points in the past 150 years, this social ecosystem has exhibited remarkable resilience in episodes of both drought and over-grazing. The resilience of the bluestem pastures had implications for stability in the rural economy. Yet, the land use regimes have undergone change since Euro-American arrival, thus the human signature on the land is by no means static. We approach the human-environment relationship as an ecological dialogue that includes both biophysical and social elements mutually shaping each other, and driven by human interests as much as biophysical factors. Current threats to the tallgrass prairie, including fragmentation and invasive species are discussed.