The Kaw River is an iconic feature of Kansas City’s natural landscape and played a crucial role in the metro area’s history and economic development. However, the Kaw also presides over an expansive watershed that includes parts of the High Plains, Smoky Hills, Flint Hills, and other regions of Colorado, Nebraska, and Kansas.    

In his new book, In the Country of the Kaw: A Personal Natural History of the American Plains, botanist Jim Locklear discusses the natural and cultural wonders found within the Kaw’s watershed. Drawing on more than 30 years of observation and travel throughout the region, Locklear details the geology, landforms, woodlands, prairies, wildlife, and other aspects of natural history and how people, past and present, interacted with the land.     

Locklear, who grew up in Kansas City, recently retired as director of conservation at Omaha’s Lauritzen Gardens. Previously, he served as director of the Dyck Arboretum of the Plains in Hesston, Kansas, and the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum.