Dawn - Nine-Mile Prairie

Darryl White's trumpet performance for Next Exit was shot on location near Nine-Mile Prairie, a 230-acre (97-hectare) relict tallgrass prairie owned by the University of Nebraska Foundation. (A "relict" prairie is a prairie that has survived as it was in the past, despite changes in the environment around it.) It is located in on the northwest edge of Lincoln, Nebraska.

The prairie was so named because it is five miles west and four miles north of the University of Nebraska campus in downtown Lincoln.

As one of the largest intact tracts of tallgrass prairie left in the Midwest, Nine-Mile Prairie serves as a nationally important outdoor laboratory for the study of biological processes in grasslands. It is the longest-studied natural area in Nebraska, serving as the site of pioneering research in plant ecology by Professor John E. Weaver, the "father of grassland ecology," beginning in the 1920s, and seeing decades of continued use by researchers at UNL and UNO.

Three hundred and ninety-two vascular plant species and over 80 species of birds have been observed on the prairie. Notable species include the federally-threatened prairie white fringed orchid (Platanthera praeclara) and the rare regal fritillary butterfly (Speyeria idalia).

Students from a diversity of University of Nebraska classes visit Nine-Mile Prairie each year for experiences ranging from plant identification to writing poetry. The prairie is also the setting for tours and special events for the general public aimed at fostering understanding and appreciation of Nebraska's prairie heritage.

The prairie is also used as a seed source of local genotypes of grasses and wildflowers for use in prairie restoration efforts in the region.