Troutbirder II

Troutbirder II
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Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Touch The Sky Prairie

To many, it is simply known as "the prairie." A landscape where the eye can see the horizon, and thunderstorms can be watched from infancy to fury. It is America's breadbasket, its corn belt, and its duck factory; a place of hard work, strong families, and civic pride.
The original Tallgrass Prairie is mostly gone now, with only one-tenth of one percent remaining. Our challenge is to save, and restore remnant portions of the remaining Tallgrass Prairie. A good friend of mine, Mr Science, has already restored 2 acres of his property. So have countless others.




On a larger scale The Northern Wetland National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1999 to preserve 77,000 acres of native prairie and buffer lands at widespread locations within the historic northern tallgrass prairie region of western Minnesota and northwestern Iowa. The refuge was established to address the loss of America's grasslands and mounting evidence indicating that many grassland species are vanishing as fast as the prairies that support them.
A recent camping/birding trip brought us and our good friends Gary and Rose to Blue Mounds State Park near Luverne, Minnesota. This beautiful site lies in the far southwestern portion of the state near the South Dakota border. Here, were spent several days exploring the native prairie and wildlife areas. We also took the opportunity to visit the gallery in Luverne of world famous wildlife photographer Jim Brandenberg. It was there the we learned of the efforts of his foundation to preserve this preserve the small remnants of the now rare prairie ecosystems. The Northern Wetland National Wildlife Refuge provides the means for private groups and individuals to support the cause of preservation. . The Brandenburg Prairie Foundation, along with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, have purchased over 800 acres of untilled prairie land in Rock County, Minnesota creating the "Touch the Sky Northern Tallgrass Prairie National Wildlife Refuge." Together, they have developed a 15-year management plan for its restoration. With time and continued effort, hundreds of native species will return – the tall grasses, the songbirds, flora and native wildlife. Their dream is to see the bison roaming "Touch the Sky Prairie" again.

Troutbirder & Rosie. Photos by Gary
Take a look.



By late summer this land and others like it will be ablaze with native prairie wildflowers. Blazing Star (liatris), New England Asters and countless others. The Blue Stem grasses will reach upward of 5 feet to the horizon. Perhaps someday buffalo and even prairie grizzley bears and... wait cancel that last one. Might be a little tough on birders since there a few trees to climb up for safety.

17 comments:

  1. You find some of the most lovely places to visit. Thanks for bringing this worthy project to us. Would love to see the 5-foot grasses.

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  2. There is a quiet beauty in the prairie. I'm happy that you understand that. :)

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  3. Any effort made to save the natural environment is worthwhile, in my opinion. Thanks for showing me this prairie, I knew nothing about it before.

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  4. A lovely area to explore, it changes rapidly.I worked at a biological station called Lakeside Lab where we worked with prairie and wetland projects.This is fairly near to this on Lake Okibodji.

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  5. Great Post. Glad to hear that some of the original landscape is being preserved and hopefully will flourish. The pics are great and remind me of how the United States probably looked like everywhere. When the Native Americans were its only inhabitants. Buffalo everywhere. Perfect trout/salmon streams.....prairies that never ended. Tight Lines

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  6. Beautiful. Another place I must visit some day very soon. Wonderful to learn about people who are doing their very best to preserve native prairie.

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  7. I love the prairie - Thanks for this post.

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  8. What a treat for me to see these lovely photos. Thank you.

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  9. Thanks for the post. I remember walking with my dad as a child through the native grasses which were well over my head. I'll never forget that experience. Hopefully some other child can have the same experience because of this wonderful project.

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  10. Wow, That will be a beautiful prairie! We have some prairie left up here..but I have never seen Big Bluestem that tall..but I have read about it..so tall that you cannot see the Bison..it is also rumored that in the Pioneer days that children would wander off in it and get lost. Maybe you should take a cell phone with you..just incase:)

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  11. How heartwarming to see natural areas restored. We are always happy to see our mountain folks put their lands in conservation organizations. The prairie is beautiful.

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  12. Thanks for a very interesting post. After reading about the prairie during our westward expansion, it's hard to believe that so little is left. I hope these reserves prosper and grow.

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  13. Great post on a lovely bit of original prairie. I like hearing that some are engaged in restoration projects, too.

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  14. WOW!!! THANK YOU FOR COMING TO PARIS WITH US!!!! Have a great day, Anita

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  15. Informative and very cool. I bet this is a GREAT place for stargazing!
    Sorry for my recent absence, btw. I was gone on a road trip.

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  16. I've often heard so much about the tall grass prairies and how they are disappearing. It's nice some folks are restoring them. I can certainly see buffalo roaming the prairies.

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  17. Kia ora TB,
    The divesity and micro world in such places would mean you could spend hours in a few metre square area and never see it all. As to the birders and bears, one birder really only has to make sure they are faster than the birder next to them :) - good to be back in the blogging world.
    Cheers,
    Robb

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