Prairie remnants, a very rare look into Iowas past. I’ve done a few posts on prairie plantings in the past and now I’d like to turn attention to a very rare land type to raise awareness about them. Prairie remnants as they are called, are areas of land containing prairie plants that were “lucky” enough to have never been plowed under for crops or developed. The photo above from the Iowa State University website offers a view at just how drastic the change has been for the state. To the left colored in red is what used to be prairie coverage in the state of Iowa. In short all areas away from tree filled valleys of creeks and rivers had prairie. To the right, barely visible specs of red remain. These are all that remains of the prairie. There is less then 0.01% left of the original prairie land and much of it is in state parks, public areas or state protected areas, for reason being that once a prairie remnant is destroyed it can never be brought back! Iowa has done a great job in doing prairie restorations. Ever notice how the interstates ditches are so beautiful? This is because Iowa seeds roadside ditches in native prairies mixtures. However even prairie restorations cannot bring back the true diversity, beauty and soil of the original prairie. Which is why there are many organizations and state programs dedicated to finding these prairie remnants and getting them preserved and protected. Remnants that are left are mainly found in ditches, steep sunny slopes, pioneer grave yards and any areas that was basically not suitable for farming at the time land started to be turned into cropland.
Walking along the great western trail here in Cumming the first week I moved here I quickly noticed what I had believed to be a original prairie remnant right along the great western trail. I noticed it was degrading and being taken over by invasive shrubs and trees so I decided to notified Warren County conservation to see if they were aware of this piece of land. The land its self is surrounded on all sides by non native grasses and woody invasive trees.
In the middle, right along the path is a long rectangular prairie area that is a hilly and full of very rare species of grasses and plants. I found rare wild little blue stem growing all over this prairie shown in the photo above. Warren County called me back and confirmed that this area is a high quality prairie remnant which even has state threatened Mead Milkweed species in it. The prairie is still there likely because it was located right along the rail road track and was not able to be farmed. This prairie is newly protected and has just started being managed by Warren County on a multiple year burning method, which burns the prairie down. Done ever 3-5 years, this method kills off invading trees and shrubs with the intense heat above ground, but the native grasses and flowers are not harmed because the tender parts of these plants are all below ground where the intense heat does not perpetrate the ground. This prairie is scheduled for a burn next spring and Warren county staff invited me to be present for the burning.
I am very fortunate to have this prairie remnant near my house because many people have to drive to state parks to see them. The photo above shows the true diversity of this prairie in the many grasses and seedheads that can be seen. I am expecting to see many more plants during the growing season next year, but some of the plants I’ve already been able to identify have been, Little blue stem, Big blue stem, Indiangrass, Prairie Dropseed, Rattlesnake Master, Stiff Goldenron, Wild Bee Balm, Wild Black Eyed Susan.
I’d also like to announce this prairie will be re featured several times throughout my horticultural posts next year. I have decided I would like to re visit it here on my blog through out the seasons so show people the beauty they can offer in all seasons and to show people Iowa’s past primary landscape type. These postings will start next spring and I plan to photograph the actual burning as well, so stay tuned to my horticulture posts!
Interested in learning more about remnants? Please visit these websites