NEBRASKAland writer Jon Farrar once referred to the sandsage prairie region of the southwestern part of the state as the “Cinderella sandhills,” always in the shadow of the grand Nebraska Sandhills to the north. Sandsage prairie is a shrub-steppe ecological association unique to the Great Plains of North America in which sand sagebrush, Artemisia filifolia, is the dominant and diagnostic element. Associated with dune fields from Wyoming into New Mexico, sandsage prairie is a plant community of conservation concern in Nebraska and several other Great Plains states. This presentation will highlight recently-published research on the composition, structure, and dynamics of sandsage prairie vegetation and the biodiversity and ecosystem functions it supports.