McLEOD, N.D. - A series of aerial photos are spread out on a table in the office of the Sheyenne Valley Grazing Association, showing the Sandhills region around McLeod, N.D. The first photos in the array date back to 1937, and clearly show dozens of areas, some many acres in size, where there is no vegetative cover, only unprotected sand. These bare spots, known as "blowouts," were increasing in size and number with the dust bowl time of the 1930s.
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