Remnants of once great American grasslands are gems
FERRYVILLE -- The goats never did show up, but "goat prairies" were evident on a tour last week of small remnants of native prairie that used to cover the hillsides of western Wisconsin.
The tour, organized by Rick Lange, district conservationist with the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service in Prairie du Chien, looked at dry bluff prairie remnants and highlighted efforts of several Crawford County landowners who are working to "improve" their land.
"When people see these remnants, they will often take an interest and then work to preserve and expand prairie remnants on their land," Lange observed.
Armund Bartz, conservation biologist with the Department of Natural Resources in LaCrosse, noted that Wisconsin was on the northern border of the great American grasslands, which were broken and plowed in order to utilize the wealth of the prairie soil for producing agricultural crops.
"Iowa, Illinois and parts of Wisconsin had good prairie but now the only sites where they remain are often steep hillsides and some moist areas too wet to drain and plow," Bartz said. "That is why prairie is a globally rare natural community, and any little sites that can be saved are really important. They are gems."
One key to preserving these remnants is to eliminate cedar trees and then use a controlled burn surrounded by a fire break. Afterwards it is not unusual to find more than 100 species of plants on these areas.
Bartz emphasized that once cedars become established they tend to take over. The trees slowly build and then suddenly expand and take over the slope. Wisconsin only has a small fraction, estimated at 10,000 acres, remaining of its original prairie.
The tour looked at a small, three-acre goat prairie owned by Roger and Mary Heath of Ferryville. They have cut red cedar and we saw prairie blazing star, western sunflower, sky-blue aster, silky aster, prairie dropseed, purple prairie clover, hoary puccoon, bird's-foot violet and some land snails.
Bartz noted the importance of insect/plant associations, such as the dependency of monarch butterflies on milkweed, leaf hoppers that live on dropseed, and the lead-plant flower moth that only lives on the lead-plant.
"The prairie brings diversity, including insects and invertebrates," Bartz said. "Dry prairie is the most important habitat type for reptiles in Wisconsin, with at least 13 different species of reptiles, including lizards and skinks, living on dry prairies."
The next stop, Sugar Creek Bluff, a state natural area owned by the Mississippi Valley Conservancy south of Ferryville, overlooks the Mississippi River. This 110-acre bluffland preserve offers a beautiful variety of colorful prairie species, such as bird's-foot violet, hoary puccoon, prairie blazing star, and compass plant. It also is home to snakes such as the blue racer, and grassland birds such as the field sparrow (a species of greatest conservation need).
A last stop was to 280 acres east of Mount Sterling, owned by Melissa and Bill Hendrickson of Barrington, Ill. The Hendricksons are not only restoring prairie species, as well as managing the adjacent forest with the assistance of a professional forester, but they have a very high quality "goat prairie" that was the envy of the visitors.
"We found out about the site when Gary Eldred, of the Prairie Enthusiasts, drove by and noticed it and asked if he could inventory the plants, " Bill Hendrickson said. "Until that day this was a bunch of useless grass where you couldn't plant anything. After that, we became very interested in making sure it was protected and continues to thrive."
That "useless" grass now holds a rich variety of species, including prairie dropseed and hill's thistle.
It was interesting to realize that many of the landowners were not the original ones who eeked out a living and did not have the time or money to pay attention to those "non productive" segments of the land.
But these new owners see "non productive" segments as jewels that still exist against the odds. Many have put hundreds of dollars into efforts to restore land they now own.
In addition, every natural resources field trip provides opportunities to meet people such as the Hendricksons, Nancy and John Diekelmann of Madison and Sue and Lon Ruedisili of Genoa, a diversity of exciting landowners who willingly share their experiences.
Everyone benefits, including the state's natural resources.
