Prairie Restoration in Wisconsin
• Muralt/Monroe Grasslands
• Buena Vista/Leola Grasslands
• White River Marsh Complex
• Star Prairie Pothole Grasslands
• Yellowstone/Pecatonica River Grasslands
• Fort McCoy Barrens
• Lower Wisconsin River Prairies and Barrens
We have often heard the saying that every cloud has a silver lining. This is true here too. Across the country the closing of military bases has caused concerns. When the government said the Badger Army Ammunition Plant in Baraboo, Wisconsin was to be closed, the commander's representative at the plant, Dave Fordham, found a silver lining.
The plant has been involved in an environmental plan for the last 18 years. The Army has now joined with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Wisconsin Chapter of The Nature Conservancy, the Prairie Enthusiasts, International Crane Foundation, Pheasants Forever-Sauk Chapter, Aldo Leopold Foundation, and the Madison Audubon Society, Inc. in a restoration program for Badger AAP.
They hope to recreate the Sauk Prairie that existed when settlers first arrived in this area. This will involve the development of biological communities and ecosystems to about 1200 acres. Their goal is to restore nearly two square miles of land to pre-settlement conditions.
Not all prairie restoration is on such a grand scale. In Watertown, chemistry teacher Jane Haag is the director of the Watertown High School Prairie Restoration Project begun in 1992. Along with other teachers they developed a prairie restoration plan at a 150 acre site for a new high school which was under construction. This ongoing project should teach the students of Watertown a great deal about prairie restoration.
If you live in Wisconsin become involved and informed on a prairie restoration in your area. If you are visiting Wisconsin, try to visit one of the restored prairie areas that are open to the public.
More prairie information at Suite 101:
Native forbs for a dry garden, Part I by Van Waffle
THE LONE PRAIRIE by Mary Trotter Kion
Wildflowers of North America By Gregg Pasterick
Attracted to Milkweed By Gregg Pasterick
Yellow Coneflowers By Gregg Pasterick
Check out more of Gregg's articles.
To learn more :
For a more in depth look at the subject find Recovering the Prairie, Robert F. Sayre, editor, University of Wisconsin Press, Madison, 1999. $37.95 hardcover. 225 p.
The Sauk Prairie Conservation Alliance
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