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The resource boom on the Great Plains is likely to continue (with perhaps an occasional slowdown) as developing countries demand more food, fiber, energy and manufactured goods. Yet the region’s appeal and future prosperity rests on far more than such assets as open land, ample resources, and lower costs. The area’s appeal lies deep in that part of the American character that seeks access to open spaces, and looks for opportunities where until recently there were few. As Frederick Jackson Turner noted over a century ago, “He would be a rash prophet who should assert the expansive character of American life has now entirely ceased.”