Cobaltika wrote on her blog about a visit to Tallgrass Prairie Preserve where she took a great bison photo:
"[We] proceeded slowly to Pawhuska OK, where a photo/nature/overnight stop was planned. since the roads there seemed “not too bad”, we decided to go to the tallgrass prairie anyway. i *really* wanted to see herds of bison roaming. and we did. in the snow. even better! they were magical creatures. plodding through the landscape."
From TNC’s "Grasslands: Conserving These Crucial but Endangered Habitats":
The prairie’s beauty has moved philosophers and painters throughout history — while its fertile soil has inspired restless settlers and industrious farmers. Today, the world’s grasslands are home to nearly 800 million people. They provide food, medicine and economic opportunities to countless millions more.
But less than five percent of all grasslands globally have been protected for conservation. And these landscapes face ever increasing threats. …
In Texas and Oklahoma, the Conservancy is implementing a variety of land-management strategies for grasslands. These innovative techniques include prescribed fire, rotational cattle and bison grazing, native grass seed banks and community outreach to conserve and restore the last remaining stretches of the Blackland Prairie.
A story from the NPCA web site by Jenell Talley: Roses may be the flowers of choice for the love-smitten come birthdays and holidays, but the rare western prairie fringed orchid has drawn its own high level of interest from scientists, botanists, and biologists concerned for the future of this unusual plant.
A loss of the tallgrass prairie habitat that the orchid favors has caused a 60 percent drop in the flower’s population over the last few decades. Listed as threatened since 1989, the orchid is found at Pipestone National Monument in Minnesota and is present throughout the tallgrass prairie region: Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, and Manitoba, Canada. The larger populations are found in North Dakota, Minnesota, and Manitoba.
Read the full story, "Little Orchid on the Prairie", by Jenell Talley on the NPCA web site.
In the past, several people have asked me what groups are involved in on-the-ground prairie conservation and restoration. I thought I would start the list in a blog post, and expand on it as we found out or remembered more organizations. (We can make a list of advocacy-only organizations in a future post.)
The Nature Conservancy has done the most work in prairie conservation throughout North America, though nowadays they only seem to get involved in very large, landscape-scale projects (10,000 acres or more) unless a site involves specific endangered species. I’d like to list specific chapters/states and prairies in a series of future posts.
Regional groups with estimated native prairie acreage protected include:
Know of more? Post them in the comments!
Hello Prairie Friends!
I’ve created this prairie blog on Wumple.com where we publish news about native prairie (tallgrass and shortgrass), savanna, desert grassland, and other native grassland related news.
(There is also a "Blog" link on the Native Prairies Association of Texas web site that goes to PrairieBlog too.)
PrairieBlog publishes and summarizes news daily about native prairies and other grasslands, though it may have slightly more tallgrass prairie news (since that is my favorite type of native grassland) and Texas prairie news (since that is where I am located and involved in prairie conservation, restoration, and appreciation).
Some example topics include: prairie conservation and restoration, native prairie plants, local ecotype native seed projects, grassland birds, butterflies, ducks, bison, prairie art, culture and history related to native prairie, carbon sequestration, cellulosic ethanol, organizations working on prairie conservation and restoration, etc.
I hope PrairieBlog will help educate more people about native prairies, motivate people to work for prairie conservation and restoration, help people keep informed of the latest news and work in prairie conservation and restoration, and help people involved with prairies network with each other.
Do you know of some native prairie, savanna, desert grassland, or other native grassland related news? Then send it our way! Submit news by emailing us at blog@texasprairie.org.
Also, please comment or leave feedback on the blog: We need the motivation of seeing people read and use it! 🙂
Thanks!
– Jason
Do you know of some native prairie (tallgrass and shortgrass), savanna, desert grassland, or other native grassland related news? Then send it our way! Submit news by emailing us at blog@texasprairie.org.
Some example topics: prairie conservation and restoration, native prairie plants, local ecotype native seed projects, grassland birds, ducks, bison, prairie art, culture and history related to native prairie, carbon sequestration, cellulosic ethanol, organizations working on prairie conservation and restoration, etc.
Also, please comment or leave feedback on the blog. I need the motivation of seeing people read and use the blog! 🙂
From the Monroe County Clarion: Illinois, the "Prairie State," once was a part of a vast grassland stretching from Indiana to Nebraska, from Texas to Saskatchewan, called the tallgrass prairie.
In 1800, 22 million acres of Illinois were tallgrass prairie and 14 million acres were forest. …
While the place names endure, only remnants of tallgrass prairie live on. In Illinois, only 2,000 acres of original tallgrass prairie remain. But interesting variations, called hill prairies, still festoon the precipitous river bluff tops above the cliff face in Monroe and Randolph counties
Read the full story, "Prairie Patches Small Relics", at the Monroe County Clarion’s web site.
The 34-year-old former Joplin resident had spent the better part of four days in the deserted state park in Barton County braving the elements as he sought to take pictures of the bison herd that roams the tall grass prairie.
Watching through the lens, he saw one of the animals peel from the herd and begin making its way toward him.
Paothong, a photographer for the Missouri Department of Conservation, said he’s been chased by all manner of animals (including snapping turtles and snakes). As a joke, his co-workers at the department even gave him a piece of Plexiglas to use as a shield to protect himself.
Read the full article, "The Nature of Art with Noppadol Paothong", at the Joplin Globe. Also visit Noppadol Paothong’s web site and blog.
N8 of Chappel Hill, NC blogged about seeing three lifers (first time in his life seeing a specific species of bird) on the prairies of Missouri where he grew up. N8 saw Le Conte’s Sparrow, Brewer’s Blackbird, and Cackling Goose.
N8 wrote: "And so on the day after Christmas we traveled westward, to the place where the last hills and hollows of the Ozarks are shrugged off in favor of the wide sweeping vistas of the prairie. It’s not a place I traveled to regularly when I was a young birder, it’s only recently been realized as a great birding locale, so here was the possibility for several new birds merely an hour from the place I grew up. One in particular was our quarry for the day, and for us to get a shot on it we needed to travel to Bois D’Arc (pronouced Bo Dark) Conservation Area west of Springfield."
Read more about it on N8’s blog.
When I talk to groups in Texas about the need for prairie conservation and restoration, I try to convey that prairies are a cultural and historical part of Texas heritage in addition to an ecological part.
Wandering Dave, on his blog, just reminded me of another piece of evidence: Deep in the Heart of Texas
The stars at night are big and bright
Deep in the heart of Texas.
The prairie sky is wide and high
Deep in the heart of Texas.
The sage in bloom is like perfume
Deep in the heart of Texas.
Reminds me of the one I love
Deep in the heart of Texas.
– Deep in the Heart of Texas, 1941, by Hershey and Swander
|| RSS 2.0 || Comments RSS 2.0 || XHTML || Powered by WordPress ||