I was all over that area last summer on the back roads.
Except for along the Missouri River on the eastern edge it is almost all range land, not farm land.
It’s way east of the Sand Hills, was out there in ‘12.
Lots of crossroads towns, some a little bigger, but no big towns. Probably no town 10k in size.
Environmental impact? I think very little.
My family’s from Nebraska and I’ve been all over the state. As far as environmental impact goes, I don’t think that’s the sum of the issue. Why should people be forced to sell and then run off their land so a foreign corporation can make a profit and politicians can pretend they’re getting something done? With the price of oil where it is, it wouldn’t surprise me to see these guys get a hold of the land and then decide not to build until they could make more money. Bullshit.