Summer 2007: Volume 28, Number 3 - Missouri Prairie Foundation

ContentsSummer2007 Volume 28, Number 3The mission of theMissouri PrairieFoundation (MPF) isto protect and restoreprairie and other nativegrassland communitiesthrough acquisition,management, educationand research.614Message from the President 2Feature ArticlesSummer MeetingMembers and guests gatherat Friendly Prairie 4Public Assistancefor Private Prairie ConservationA Beginner’s Guide, Part II of II 6Innovation in Bloom: My Monthas a Kinship Conservation Fellow 12St. Louis Area Urban Prairies 144The Missouri PrairieJournal is publishedquarterly by the MissouriPrairie Foundation.Please send materialsfor the fall 2007 issueby October 1, 2007 toCarol DavitJournal editor1311 Moreland AvenueJefferson City, MO 65101Phone: 573-893-5446davitleahy@earthlink.netThe Missouri PrairieJournal is designedby Tracy Ritter.To become an MPFmember or givethe gift of MPFmembership, pleasecall 1-888-843-6739 or573-356-7828.Map of MPF Prairies 2526A Rich Man’s GardenOn a Teacher’s Pension 26Richard’s Prairie Management Advice 31Calendar of Prairie-Related Events 32Pure Prairie 34Missouri Prairie Foundation Officers,Directors and Advisors Back coverOn the coverHoary vervain (Verbenastricta) is common yetbeautiful in prairies,pastures and fields. Itblooms from late springto early fall. Photo byNoppadol Paothong/MDC.More of his photos appearthroughout this issue.

Summer Meeting Members and guestsBy Justin JohnsonCasey GalvinAlong with the wavinggrasses, several redflags on the area markedoccurrences of thefederally threatenedMead’s milkweed(Asclepias meadii),pictured above. Theplant has becomerare over time dueto the overall loss ofnative prairie, habitatfragmentation andearly season haying ofmany remaining prairiesbefore the plant goes toseed. It is also believedthat the small beesthat pollinate Mead’smilkweed are declining.The southern half ofFriendly Prairie wasburned by MDC managersthis spring, and theMead’s milkweed plantswere closely monitoredthrough the summer;however, none ofthe plants producedsuccessful seedpods.The Missouri Prairie Foundation(MPF) held its summer boardmeeting at Friendly Prairie southof Sedalia on August 18. Field conditionswere lush, as June rain and summer heatcombined to produce tall, thick grassat the 40-acre site, which is owned byMPF and cooperatively managed by theMissouri Department of Conservation(MDC).As Membership Grows,MPF Changes Policies and StrategyMPF President Steve Mowry noted that thefoundation has made progress toward its goal of5,000 members by January 1, 2010. In August2005, MPF had 2,300 members and two yearslater that total is 3,300, an all-time high. Inresponse to concerns expressed by some MPFmembers, the board voted to change its policyregarding donations and the general membershipcycle. Effective this year, a donation of $25 ormore, whether intended for general membershipor a specific purpose, such as the Coyne Prairieacquisition, will be treated as a membershiprenewal. In the past, members who contributedto specific campaign appeals during the year wereoften confused by general membership renewalrequests once every 12 months. The change ispart of a general board policy shift to send fewergeneral membership renewal mailings and insteadsend a few action-oriented requests each yearpaul coxto all members. Beginning with the fall 2007issue, more than 900 landowners in GrasslandsCoalition Focus Areas will receive four trial issuesof the Journal. Many former MPF members, wholikely have not seen a Journal since the switchto full-color format in the spring 2006, will alsoreceive a complimentary issue and an invitation tore-join.Resources Available On-lineFull electronic copies of the Missouri PrairieJournal from summer 2003 to the present arenow available at www.moprairie.org. In addition,land management advice and scientific studies arebeing added to the management, education andresearch sections of the Web site. If there is somethingyou would like to see added on-line, visitthe MPF Web site and click on the “Contact”link.Summer Management Season ConcludesPrairie Operations Manager Richard Datemareported that the summer work crew had completedherbicide treatment of sericea lespedezaon all MPF prairies. For more than two months,the team of Beth Meyers and Jeremy Watkinsarrived at various MPF prairies and a few partners’properties by dawn to assist Datema withland management activities before the summerheat reached dangerous levels. In addition to sericeatreatments, the summer crew, Datema andcontractors sprayed other invasive species, clearedbrush and finished clearing nearly all trees fromCoyne and Penn-Sylvania prairies to prepare thesite to be fenced this fall. In October, MPF LandManagement Chairman Stan Parrish will overseethe movement of a small number of longhorncattle from Schwartz Prairie to the 320-acreCoyne and Penn-Sylvania unit. MPF owns 240acres of the property and manages the remaining80 acres between Coyne and Penn-Sylvaniain partnership with landowner Julian Snadon.MPF’s summer work crew for 2007 was fundedby Wildlife Forever, the Missouri Department ofConservation (MDC) and the USDA’s GrazingLands Conservation Initiative.

gather at Friendly PrairieDuring the meeting, MPF received a checkfor more than $16,000 from Elizabeth Hamiltonof Hamilton’s Native Outpost seed company.Hamilton’s collects seed from many MPFprairies, and the funds are MPF’s share from the2006 seed harvest. Parrish and Datema noted thatthe seed revenue exceeds what MPF received inthe past when cutting and selling prairie hay was acommon management technique. Approximately$11,000 of MPF’s seed revenue came from sitesthat had been planted in the last four years withgrant funds from the National Fish and WildlifeFoundation, MDC’s Wildlife Diversity Fund andthe U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.Greater Prairie-ChickenRecovery UpdateMax Alleger, who leads thestate’s Greater Prairie-Chicken Recovery team,reported that MDC hadreceived a new federal grantfrom the U.S. Fish andWildlife Service that willprovide nearly $650,000 overthree years to help improvegrassland bird habitat on propertyin the Grasslands CoalitionFocus Areas. A major portion of the grantfunds will be administered by the MissouriConservation Heritage Foundation to encouragepartnerships, matching funds and innovativeon-the-ground delivery. Rick Thom, who wasnamed MPF’s Prairie Professional of the Year for2006, recently retired from MDC and has justbecome the executive director of the MissouriConservation Heritage Foundation.Permanent Protection andPerpetual ManagementBy the end of September 2007, MPF will receivemore than $500,000 from nine GrasslandReserve Program easements placed on MPFprairie parcels (such as at Runge Prairie; seephoto on page 41). The easements placepermanent restrictions on the properties so thatthey will always be protected.Seed collecting, cutting theprairies for hay after the primarynesting season, and sustainablegrazing are allowable uses of theproperties under the federal programrules. At the summer meeting, theMPF board voted to use the easementfunds to pay off remaining debt and toestablish a prairie management endowment fundwith the Community Foundation of the Ozarks.Under the CFO’s Stewardship Ozarks initiative,MPF will be eligible to receive up to $50,000 inmatching endowment funds so that future landmanagement expenses can be fundedby investment income.The next MPF board meetingwill be held at RungePrairie outside Kirksville onSaturday morning, October13. The meeting will startat 9:00 a.m. and end atapproximately 1:00 p.m. Atour of area prairie remnantswill be available for interestedmembers and guests. Overnightcamping will be permitted atRunge Prairie. All MPF members arewelcome to attend. For more information,contact Justin Johnson at 573-356-7828 ormissouriprairie@yahoo.com.carol DavitJustin Johnson is MPF’s executive director.Above, MPF PresidentSteve Mowry, left, andExecutive DirectorJustin Johnson, right,conferred during ameeting break. At left,Max Alleger providedan update on greaterprairie-chicken recoveryefforts to ElizabethHamilton and the rest ofthe meeting attendees,below.paul coxCarol Davit

Public Assistance for Privatemdc photoThe last issue of the Journal provided a primer on governmentassistance available for private prairie conservation.The article (pages 8–10) outlined key programs offeredby the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)—the WildlifeHabitat Incentives Program (WHIP), the Environmental QualityIncentives Program (EQIP) and the Conservation Reserve Program(CRP). Landowners can learn specifics about these cost-share programsby contacting the USDA Service Center in their county.These centers are home to conservation professionals from thefederal Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and thefederal Farm Service Agency (FSA). Many Missouri Departmentof Conservation (MDC) private land conservationists have officesat Service Centers as well. Any of these professionals can help landownerslearn how to implement USDA programs.In this second part of the public assistance primer, programsavailable from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the MissouriDepartment of Conservation are discussed.Partners for Fish and Wildlife ProgramBy Kelly Srigley WernerBack in the mid-1980s, the U.S. Fishand Wildlife Service (USFWS) wasworking to improve declining waterfowlpopulations with many agenciesand groups in the Midwest by restoringwetland habitat on private lands. By1987, the Partners for Fish and WildlifeProgram (PFW) was born. Now recognizingits 20 th anniversary, the PFW programworks to achieve the full missionof the USFWS to work with partnersto conserve, protect and enhance fish,wildlife, and plants and their habitats forthe continuing benefit of the Americanpeople. In October 2006, Congressunanimously approved and the Presidentsigned the Partners for Fish and WildlifeAct to provide for the restoration,enhancement, and management of habitatson private land through the PFWProgram.What does this mean for prairiein Missouri? The USFWS’s MissouriPrivate Lands Office works closelywith partners like the Missouri PrairieFoundation, the NRCS, the FSA, MDCand many others to promote the restorationand conservation of historic prairiehabitat on private lands.Native prairies, savannas, glades,and loess hills are all important forproviding nesting and brood-rearinggrassland habitat for migratory birds andyear-round habitat for resident birds likethe greater prairie-chicken and the northernbobwhite, not to mention the myriadother wildlife species that utilize thesehabitats. Using migratory bird plans,Grasslands Coalition Focus Areas, speciesmanagement plans, and the historicMissouri prairie locations, the USFWShas developed priority zones for prairiehabitat restoration. This focus allowsthe PFW program to target the needs ofgrassland species including those that arein most need due to population declines.Agricultural producers and otherlandowners who contact the USFWS

Prairie ConservationA Beginner’s Guide, Part II of IIBy Kelly Srigley Werner and Max AllegerNoppadol paothongPrairie wildlife and landowners alike benefit from federal and state assistance programs. Public funds and expertise can help agriculturalproducers and other landowners maximize native plant diversity on working lands, such as grazing land for cattle, and cost-sharing programscan defray costs of restoring and maintaining prairie habitat for greater prairie-chickens, above.office directly or through MDC staff canreceive on-the-ground technical assistanceand learn about ways to make theirdollars go further on working lands andinvasive species control. The USFWSoffers funding to any landowner whovoluntarily wishes to work on a prairieproject through the PFW Program.Federal dollars can be provided tolandowners to help pay for the cost ofMissouri-source prairie grass and forbseed mix designed for a specific site andthe wildlife species it may support.Landowners can also use PFWfunds for approved herbicides to eradicatefescue and/or control non-nativeinvasive species, fencing, tree removalfrom prairie landscapes, shrub plantingin appropriate areas, and hiringcontractors to do the work. In return, alandowner must agree to and maintaina habitat project for no less than 10years by signing a PFW agreement,which also contains a management planto help guide a landowner throughimplementation and management of aproject. A USFWS wildlife biologist willbe available throughout the length ofthe agreement to provide any additionalassistance that might be needed.Inherent in the name, the Partnersfor Fish and Wildlife Program relieson the partnerships that work toward acommon goal, in this case the restorationof prairie habitats in northern and southwesternMissouri. The program operateson the premise that conservation is ashared responsibility between citizensand government. In Missouri, 94% ofthe land is in private ownership, and byengaging willing landowners throughnon-regulatory incentives, a largeamount of that land can be improved forprairie wildlife habitat. For more informationon the PFW Program contactyour local MDC private land servicesbiologist or call 573-234-2132 ext. 112.Kelly Srigley Werner is the MissouriPrivate Lands Program coordinator forthe U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

MDC Assistance for Missouri Grassland OwnersBy Max AllegerThe Missouri Department ofConservation (MDC) provides technicaland financial assistance to all Missourilandowners. In many cases, MDCresponds to their requests by providingthe information necessary to help themmeet their land management objectives.In some instances, MDC staff helpslandowners participate in federal or stateincentive programs aimed at helping rareor declining wildlife species and plantcommunities.Making sense of the restrictions ofthe various incentive and cost-share programscan be daunting. To make mattersworse, landowners’ eligibility for suchprograms may vary depending on thelocation of their property and their managementobjectives. For example, someprograms are available only to farmers,while others target lands not intendedfor agricultural production. And, if landis located within a designated Quail andGrassland Bird Focus Area, a landownermay be eligible to receive higher costsharerates for select practices.Thankfully, MDC Private LandConservationists (PLCs) are availableto assist landowners in every MissouriCounty. PLCs are well informed about awide variety of natural resource managementtopics and have the latest informationabout federal and state incentiveprograms that may be available to helpdefray the cost of implementing a landowner’sgrassland management objectives.In the Spirit of Aldo LeopoldAldo Leopold, a forester and ecologist who worked in Wisconsin in theearly 1900s, had close family and professional ties to Missouri. Why is thisimportant? In the world of “wildlifers” he is known as the Father of Wildlife Conservationwhose ideas have been passed on to every contemporary wildlife management biologist. Leopoldhad a keen perception of the land and its conservation through a land ethic that still ringstrue. The PFW program employs many of Aldo Leopold’s principles to help connect Missourilandowners to their land.Leopold spent considerable time in Missouri conducting wildlife surveys in the late 1920s.The results of the surveys indicated that Missouri wildlife was in trouble; in fact, he expressedconcern about the decline of habitat for northern bobwhite and greater prairie-chickens dueto the surge in agriculture and the plowing of prairies. Leopold explained “We will have noconservation worthy of the name until food and cover for wildlife is deliberately, instead ofaccidentally, provided for, until abundant wildlife is the mark of the best rather than the worstPhotos by Kelly Srigley wernerFar left, native grasses andforbs now dominate thelandscape on this privateland in northeastern Missouri.At left is a private nativegrassland planting, whichis now benefitting northernbobwhite, bobolinks, grasshoppersparrows, andgreater prairie-chickens.

MDC provides funds for landownerswho want to improve habitats ontheir property. Although MDC fundsare far less than those available throughUSDA programs, they can be simplerto tap into for landowners with highlyfocused land management objectives.MDC funds are delivered via the MDCLandowner Assistance Program. Therulebook for this program is called theLandowner Incentive Docket. Thedocket describes available programsalong with the payment rates, rulesand requirements for each. Althoughthe docket includes practices aimed ataddressing the full range of resourceissues faced by Missouri landowners, theremainder of this article highlights justthose that are most commonly appliedto restore native prairie remnants, orimprove the habitat value of other privatelyowned grasslands.Before delving into individual practices,let me point out that landownerrequests for MDC private land fundsalmost always outstrip availability,which often occurs very early within afiscal year. The availability of the practicesdescribed below, as well as thecost-share rates for some, may also varyamong MDC administrative regionsacross the state. There are a couple offarming.” The USFWS private lands program follows Leopold’s premise that for conservation to besuccessful it needs to be practiced on private land where wildlife can have large landscapes to thriverather than being squeezed onto small publicly managed tracts, and the role of government agencies isto help with demonstration, research and public outreach.Leopold wanted conservation to be a focus in Missouri. Back in his day, he hoped that Missouri wouldnever become industrialized in mind and spirit. Missourians have proven that conservation is important asevidenced in the conservation sales tax and the parks and soils tax. However, more can be done.In this fast-paced world we live in with the Internet, video games, iPods and cell phones, it is moreimportant than ever to stay in touch with the land and teach children about the wonders of our naturalworld—through a day fishing, hunting, observing prairie-chickens on a lek or walking through a prairie.Nearly 70 years since Leopold’s surveys, the prairie conservation community remains concerned aboutprairie-chickens but now many other birds have been added to the list, including common species likethe eastern meadowlark and dickcissel. Leopold said “Conservation is a state of harmony between menand land. The last word in ignorance is the man who says of an animal or plant: ‘What good is it?’ Ifthe land mechanism as a whole is good, then every part is good, whether we understand it or not.” TheUSFWS can help landowners connect with every part of their land and keep common species commonthrough the PFW program.Kelly Srigley WernerFor more on Aldo Leopold, read A Sand County Almanac. For more information on declining bird speciesvisit http://www.audubon.org/bird/stateofthebirds/CBID/index.php.important rules of thumb to considerabout these programs:• MDC cost-share funds may be used incombination with federal funds fromthe USFWS or the USDA, but thereare some exceptions, which PLCs canexplain. However, a landowner cannotreceive funds from any combination ofsources in ways that pay for the samework more than once. Landowners cansometimes reduce the out-of-pocketcosts of implementing conservationpractices by counting their labor aspart of their required match.• None of the following practices maybe applied to lands enrolled in CRPunless: 1) the land is not eligible forUSDA mid-contract managementcost-share, 2) at least three yearsremain on the CRP contract, and3) the land is located in a Quail andGrassland Bird Focus Area.As you will read below, the detailscan quickly become confusing, so consultationwith your local PLC is likelyyour best next step after reading aboutthe practices. PCLs will be better ableto assist you if you begin with a gooddescription of the problem(s) you’retrying to overcome or the managementobjectives you have for your land. Oftentimes, a PLC will ask for an opportunityto walk the land with you to betterunderstand your vision for the propertybefore talking about specific incentiveor cost-share programs or practices. Youcan contact your local PLC by callingyour nearest MDC office or by loggingonto http://www.mdc.mo.gov/landown/contacts/.

MDC PhotosAssistance from MDC allowed this woody fencerow, at left, to be removed. A year later, at right, the formerly dissected private grassland isunited, providing improved habitat for ground-nesting birds and other prairie wildlife.Grassland Management Practices fromMDC’s Private Land Incentive Docket:» Landowners can reduce the cost of applying a numberof different early successional management tools to maintainand improve their grassland resources. These practices maybe applied on grasslands or idle areas where the reduction ofundesirable plants and plant residues will improve habitat conditionsor strengthen the native plant community.Keep in mind that participation may mean that grazing orhaying may only be allowed to meet the objectives prescribedby a management plan, and that participants agree to followan approved management plan and maintain the practice for atleast 10 years.» Mechanical disturbance, such as light disking, may bethe best tool to set back vegetative succession in some circumstances.This practice pays $15/acre for mechanical disturbanceup to a maximum of $600/landowner/year. Payment is limitedto once every three years on the same acres.All disking or other soil disturbance must be done oncontours and in strips to minimize soil erosion. Mowing is notan approved practice, and participants must observe a conservationplan prepared by USDA or MDC staff that addresseshighly erodible lands and noxious weed control restrictions. Toavoid disturbing ground-nesting bird species, mechanical disturbanceis not allowed from May 1 through July 15.» Herbicide suppression is used to create vegetative diversityand set back some herbaceous communities. Cooperatorsreceive $10/acre for herbicide application up to a maximum of$1,000/landowner/year.» Woody cover control is used when grasslands, old fieldsor prairies have become overgrown with woody vegetation.This practice can be applied with hand labor or mechanically,with dozers, clippers or similar equipment. Stumps, other thancedar, must be treated with an approved herbicide to preventresprouting. Fallen trees and brush may be left as it lies, piledinto brush piles or removed for firewood. Operations within50' of streams are limited to chain sawing, and debris mustnot be placed in stream channels. The least destructive removalmethod will be used on native plant communities.The cost share is determined by the basal area removed,and will be paid according to the table below, not to exceed atotal payment of $3,750/project/landowner/year. These ratesmay be increased in some Quail and Grassland Bird FocusAreas.Component Chainsaw & Herbicide Mechanical(Clipper or Dozer)Light (20–30BA or$50/acre$65/acreup to 199 trees per acre)Medium (30–40 BA or $65/acre$105/acre200 to 400 trees per acre)Heavy (>40 BA or more $82.50/acre$265/acrethan 400 trees per acre)Loess Hills $337.50/acre N/ABA = basal area» MDC provides financial assistance to construct fencingthat excludes livestock to protect sensitive natural communitiesand attain specific resource management objectives.Cooperators receive no more than $0.25/ft. for electric fencesor $0.75/ft. for conventional fences (gates not included). Totallandowner payment for this practice cannot exceed $7,000/landowner/year. All fences are constructed according to NRCSspecifications, and must be maintained for a minimum of 10years following installation. This practice cannot be used toconstruct property boundary fences or fences along publicroadways unless woody removal is necessary for prairie landscapemanagement. No property boundary fence shall be constructedwithout the consent of all adjoining landowners.» Herbaceous vegetation control helps offset the costs associatedwith removing or reducing undesirable herbaceous veg-10

etation. This practice may be applied to any plant communitywhere non-native herbaceous species limit site restoration ormaintenance potential. This practice can be used in combinationwith burning, haying and grazing to achieve the desiredplant community, which must be maintained as described in anatural resource management plan for a minimum of 10 yearsafter treatment.For grassland conversion practices, payment is authorizedat $22.50/acre/application or a total of $45.00/acre. The totallandowner payment shall not exceed $2,250.00/landowner/year. In some cases, undesirable monocultures can be convertedby transitioning through a period of annual crop production.However, the intent of the practice is not to bring marginallands into agricultural production. Annually tilled lands arenot eligible to receive cost-share assistance for mechanical control.Eligible lands must currently contain a predominance ofundesirable grass species as determined by the MDC resourceplanner.» Herbaceous vegetation establishment helps offset thecost of establishing wildlife-friendly legumes and perennialcool- or warm-season grasses, or native grasses or native forbsto enhance wildlife habitat, improve grazing land diversity,improve water quality or reduce sedimentation.Native warm-season grasses, legumes, and forb seed mustbe purchased from vendors that provide Missouri-sourceidentified and Missouri-origin seed. PLCs can provide a listof approved vendors, or you can review the 2007 Spring SeedDirectory at http://www.moseed.org/.Cooperators using this practice agree to follow an approvedwildlife or grazing management plan that meets NRCS specificationsand maintains the established vegetation in a wildlifefriendlymanner for a minimum of 10 years. Grazing or hayingis allowed only to meet objectives prescribed by a wildlife managementplan. Cost-share is authorized for fertilizer and limeapplications based on soil test results. Cooperators receive 75%of the actual cost of establishment not to exceed $225/acre and$5,625/landowner/year.» The prescribed burning practice may provide payment forpreparing burn plans, installing fire breaks and implementingone prescribed burn on lands where fire may be safely used toreach specific management objectives.Cooperators personally conducting prescribed burns andreceiving MDC financial assistance must attend an approvedprescribed burn workshop and follow a prescribed burn planprepared to MDC standards. Cooperators utilizing contractorsare not required to attend training. Burn plans developed bycooperating agency staff must meet NRCS or MDC standards.Cooperators will follow an approved management plan for aminimum of five years following the cost-shared burn.Flat rate payment for prescribed burning is determinedby the land cover being burned. For grasslands, the paymentfor the first 15 acres is limited to a maximum of $25/acre.Additional payments are authorized for firebreak constructionand burn plan preparation. Acres beyond 15 are eligible for amaximum of $15/acre up to a maximum of $2,500.» The deferred haying and grazing practice pays landownersa maximum of $27.50/acre/year to defer haying or grazing onselected lands to allow for the establishment or resting of wildlife-friendlylegumes, perennial cool- or warm-season nativegrasses or forbs to enhance wildlife habitat and improve grazingland diversity.This practice may be used on native prairies and haymeadows and pastures where wildlife management is a primaryobjective. Deferment payments may be made to cooperatorsusing a rotational grazing system to establish a refugepaddock(s) that is idled to create nesting cover for grasslandbirds.A cooperator may receive a maximum of $3,500/year andis limited to two years of participation. A landowner mustagree to follow an approved grazing management plan andmaintain the enrolled acres in a wildlife-friendly manner asdetermined by the MDC planner for a minimum of 10 years.Max Alleger is a private land conservationistwith the Missouri Department of Conservationand a technical advisor to the Missouri Prairie Foundation.Landowners can receive funding from MDC to offsetthe costs of prescribed burns.MDC Photo11

Innovation in BloomMy Month as a Kinship Conservation Fellowby Justin JohnsonThis past June and July I was challenged, encouraged andinspired by conservation leaders from around the world.As one of 18 Kinship Conservation Fellows, I traveled toBellingham, Washington, for five weeks of classroom instructionby brilliant faculty and guest speakers, field trips to theawe-inspiring Olympic Peninsula and late night discussionswith amazing colleagues. In short, my eyes have been openedand there is no going back.The Kinship Conservation Fellows program is funded bymembers of the Searle family, who sold their pharmaceuticalcompany to Monsanto in 1985. The program started in 2001in association with the Property and Environment ResearchCenter in Bozeman, Montana. The 2007 class was the firstto be hosted at Western Washington University and led by anew program director, Jim Tolisano of the University of NewMexico. The official Kinship mission statement is,“To develop a community of leadersdedicated to applying market-basedprinciples to environmental issues,”but in reality, the program gets to something more basic andpotentially more powerful than that. Using a mix of economictheory, practical application and institutional professionalism,the Kinship method seeks to bring the conservation communityand the corporate world together, and in the process, helpeach side learn from one another.Conservation is Good for BusinessUsing resources sustainably, reducing waste and saving moneyare all good for the corporate bottom line, but until recently,the suggestions of many conservation groups were ignored bythe business community.Today, seemingly every other television commercial toutsa new conservation consciousness: Toyota and other makers offuel-efficient vehicles are grabbing market share, and Wal-Marthas quickly figured out that less packaging means less weightand therefore lower shipping costs, higher stocking densitiesand more profit. Businesses like these aren’t going to stoptrying to get people to buy more and more of their products,but if waste can be reduced or the impacts of waste can bemitigated, all the better.Charlie Avis, one of the Kinship participants and anenvironmental program manager for several World WildlifeFund (WWF) projects throughout Europe, put it simply: “Foryears we’ve viewed those in business as our opponents, but inreality, if we can show them a way to make money that helpsthe planet, they’ll go for it. We need to go to the people whohave the money and get it.” Avis noted that the WWF officein the Netherlands was particularly well funded, but it pales incomparison to even the marketing budget of the Dutch brewerHeineken.Large corporations make charitable contributions throughtheir foundations, but it is the potential of the revenue-side ofthe house that is largely untapped. In the not-so-distant future,huge money could be made by taking sustainable resources,such as prairie grasses, and brewing them into cellulosicethanol. (See page 26 of this past winter’s Journal for moreinformation.) There could be a major role for Missouri-basedmultinational companies Anheuser-Busch and Monsanto,and of course private landowners in Missouri, to explore thisopportunity.Ruth Norris, a grant manager for the Skoll Foundation anda visiting lecturer for the Kinship program, noted that, asidefrom corporations, even charitable foundations are approachedincorrectly by most non-profit groups. “Think of a foundationas having two pockets,” Norris said. “In one pocket you havethe 5% interest off the corpus that these large foundations haveto give away each year, and that is the side every non-profitgroup approaches. But in the other pocket you have all the realmoney, and that has to be invested in something.” Norris saysthat a lot of those large foundations can’t or won’t invest inthings like oil and gas stocks that conflict with their mission, soif conservation groups can design “program-related investment”opportunities that produce a safe return, the funding potentialis nearly unlimited. The key is to show businesses how doingthings naturally can either create profit or reduce expenses.Premium-priced goods—anything from lumber to beef towine—that are sustainably produced and marketed as such havethe potential to make landowners and producers more profit.Protecting and managing a watershed to improve water qualitycould be more efficient for a community than raising taxes tobuild a new water treatment plant. This is a rapidly emergingfield that is more developed in areas where basic resources, suchas water, are more scarce and development pressures are higherthan in Missouri.Corporations Produce Results, Shouldn’t Non-Profits?As much as businesses can benefit from thinking like conservationists,the non-profit sector needs to learn from corporations.Another Kinship speaker, Francis Pandolfi, is a businessconsultant who advised program participants to sharpen their12

organizations by identifying a competitiveadvantage. “You must be able to tell otherswhat you do in a very simple way,” Pandolfisaid. “Even more important, you must be ableto differentiate your organization from all theothers. Why should peoplesupport you rather than the other guy?”Pandolfi also defined marketing asdetermining what people want and giving itto them. This is instructive for the MissouriPrairie Foundation (MPF). A recent poll revealed that morethan 70 percent of landowners in Missouri’s Prairie ChickenFocus Areas had not seen a prairie-chicken in more than fiveyears. That same poll showed that landowners felt it was moreimportant to have quail and grassland birds on their propertythan prairie-chickens, which makes sense because many havenever seen a prairie-chicken. At the same time, prairie-chickensrated higher than deer. By restoring healthy grasslands, MPFcan increase the numbers of common prairie birds, such asquail, meadowlarks and field sparrows that are familiar to peopleand also bring back prairie-chicken populations so that morepeople will see them and appreciate them.Perhaps the most challenging concept presented duringthe Kinship discussions about business was the issue ofperformance. Generally most non-profits do a terrible jobreporting results. The most common measures of success inconservation projects are the number of dollars spent and theacres affected. While MPF gets high marks for spending moneyefficiently and bringing multiple sources of funding to projects,in the future, MPF needs to work with other partners such asAudubon Society of Missouri to monitor wildlife’s response toall the dollars being spent to improve acres of habitat.Moving Forward with a New PerspectiveThe Kinship program also provided me with a perspective on amuch smaller scale of business—the community level. ProgramDirector Tolisano and program participant Torjia Sahr Karimuof Sierra Leone have worked together on chimpanzee conservationin West Africa. Both said that frequently, the concerns ofthe local people are ignored. “The scientists come into the communityand clearly care only about the chimpanzees,” Karimusaid. “They dress it up in a smokescreen called conservation,but the people can tell.” Several other program participants,such as Jean-Marie Benishay of the Democratic Republic ofCongo and Adam Hannuksela who works in Mexico, spokeof the devastating effects of natural resource exploitation byAttending the opening Kinship dinner on June22 are, from left, MPF’s Justin Johnson and otherfellows Torjia Sahr Karimu of the ConservationSociety of Sierra Leone, Jean-Marie Benishayof the Democratic Republic of Congo’s BonoboConservation Initiative and Johnjoe Cantos of theWorld Wildlife Fund in the Philippines.By the end of the program, the Kinship fellowshad become great friends and had gaineda greater understanding about the future ofconservation. From left are Julie Ziff Sint ofNew York City’s Tri-State Biodiesel, Zo LalainaRandriarimalala of Conservation Internationalin Madagascar, MPF’s Justin Johnson, and SteveParrett of the Oregon Water Trust.local people who have few options. Program instructor NejemRaheem put it this way, “When the difference between feedingyour family and starving to death is determined by how manyhours you can work and how many trees you can cut down, itis hard to think about conservation.”There is hope for local people in the developing world, andthat hope needs to inform MPF’s work in rural Missouri. Inmany African countries, tourism and non-timber forest products,such as bee’s wax and honey, give residents alternatives tocutting down the trees. In Belize, Kinship participant JonathanLabozzetta is working to help local people sell the lobster theycatch at a premium price to local tourist markets rather thansell them cheaply to commercial export buyers. If MPF wantsprivate landowners to conserve remnant prairie and restore formerprairies to useful grassland habitat, we have to ask what thelandowners want and what they need to make a living.On December 1 at the Missouri Livestock Symposium inKirksville, representatives from MPF, the Missouri Departmentof Conservation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and theUniversity of Missouri Extension Service will speak to privatelandowners about emerging business opportunities that mix wellwith conservation. By keeping the questions raised during theKinship program in mind, the conservation world and the businessworld can begin to collaborate and profit from one another.As Chad Brealey, a 2002 Kinship fellow who works to protectsalmon habitat in British Columbia said, “Conservation is aboutlooking forward, innovating, adapting and creating the changesyou want to see. If you don’t change behaviors, you’ll just becaught in a cycle of restoration, degradation and restoration.”In the next few Journal issues, I will discuss new toolsfor conservation, such as carbon credits, transferable developmentrights and payments for ecosystem services, that have thepotential to conserve Missouri’s prairie in a viable, long-termway. I welcome any comments at missouriprairie@yahoo.comor 573-356-7828.Justin Johnson is the executive directorof the Missouri Prairie Foundation.

Grasslands of Cuivre River State ParkMost of the 6,400 acres of Cuivre River StatePark is oak woodland, but the park’s four prairieunits add immense biological value. Even thoughthese four tracts cover only 100 acres, manyprairie species wouldn’t exist in the park withoutthese grassland jewels.Cuivre River State Park had its origins duringthe depression of the mid-1930s, but recognitionof the park’s prairie resource didn’t occur untilthe mid-1970s. In 1976 Sac Prairie was burnedfor the first time in what was the first ecologicallybased prescribed burn ever conducted in aMissouri state park. Sac Prairie covers only fiveacres, yet it supports more than 80 species ofprairie plants including prairie blazing star, roughblazing star, cream wild indigo, rosinweed, prairiedock, prairie rose, ragged orchid (Platantheralacera) and rattlesnake master.Of the park’s four prairie units, Sac Prairie isthe smallest, but still has good diversity and thelongest management history. Sherwood Prairie isthe largest, and includes more than 50 grasslandacres within a savanna/woodland matrix coveringa total of 150 acres. The entire management unitsupports more than 240 plant species. Besides thecharacteristic prairie plants already listed, this sitealso supports showy goldenrod (Solidago speciosa),white lettuce (Prenanthes aspera), willow-leavedaster (Aster praealtus), prairie sedge (formerly astate-listed species), prairie willow (Salix humilis),the park’s only stand of compass plant, anda state-listed species of conservation concern—eared or auriculate false foxglove (Agalinis auriculata).Dry Branch Prairie has 25 acres of grasslandand savanna, which also supports a population ofthe foxglove. Northwoods Prairie’s ten acres mayhave the least overall diversity, but still support animportant flora that includes prairie sedge, prairiewillow, and an impressive display of butterflymilkweed. Another state-listed species, easternblazing star (Liatris scariosa), occurs in one of severalother small scattered grassland tracts.Cuivre River’s prairies provide importanthabitat for many animals too. Birds that are frequentlyfound in and around the park’s prairiesinclude the northern bobwhite, field sparrow,blue-winged warbler, common yellowthroat,white-eyed vireo, eastern towhee, yellow-breastedchat, rose-breasted grosbeak and summer tanager.Many characteristic prairie insects are alsoknown from Cuivre’s prairies, ranging from antcolonies below the ground to a diverse assemblageof pollinators flying above it. Surveys have documented81 kinds of butterflies using the prairies,including some notable ones like coral hair-Bruce SchuetteTall green milkweed(Asclepias hirtella),at left, and noddingladies’ tresses orchid(Spiranthes cernua),below, are two of themany plant species ofCuivre River State Park’sgrasslands. The milkweedblooms from latespring to summer andthe orchid from midsummerto fall.CaptionsBruce Schuette15

St. Louis Area Urban PrairiesBruce SchuetteBruce SchuettePollinators, such as thisbee above, thrive on thenectar provided by adiversity of wildflowersgrowing on CuivreRiver’s many acres ofprairie and vast tracts ofsavanna and woodland,at right.streaks, (Harkencleuus titus), Edward’s hairstreaks(Satyrium edwardsii), and the golden byssus skipper(Probleme byssus kunskata).Since 1976 all the park prairies have beenincluded in the prescribed burn program. Someclearing of invading woody brush and trees fromthe prairies has also been necessary because ofthe long period of time that fire was absent fromthe system. In addition, prescribed fires burninginto the woods are restoring the savanna edge andopen oak woodland that were so prominent whenthis region was first settled.Small limestone glades are also scatteredamong the southerly facing hillsides throughoutthe park. To greater or lesser degrees these naturalcommunities may in fact also be considerednative grasslands in their own right—they caneasily be seen as dry prairies with shallow soilsover bedrock and frequent exposures of bedrockon the surface. Glades are extremely rare thisfar north in Missouri, with many species at thenorthernmost extreme of their global distribution.Prescribed burns and removal of highlyinvasive eastern red cedar trees are also insuringthe survival of these rare and diverse little grasslandgems.Savannas are basically prairies with ascattering of tree cover. Even the oak woodlandshave a lot in common with grasslands, includingthe prominence of grasses, sedges and shadeintolerantwildflowers in the groundcoverlayer. Species like leadplant, purple milkweed,Carolina rose, cream wild indigo, slenderlespedeza (Lespedeza virginica), American feverfew(Parthenium integrifolium), wild ryes and othersprovide testimony to woodland affinities with ourgrasslands.In 1997 the Lincoln Hills Natural Area wasestablished in the park to preserve the full rangeof terrestrial natural communities found in theLincoln Hills ecological region. Included withinthe 1,872-acre natural area are caves, sinkholeponds, limestone glades, bluffs, bottomlandforest, upland woodlands and prairie. Sac,Sherwood and Dry Branch Prairies are all part ofthe natural area, demonstrating the importance ofthese native grasslands in protecting the region’sbiodiversity and natural history.Bruce Schuette, Cuivre River State Parknaturalist and MPF board memberLocation/Directions: Cuivre River State Park islocated 3 miles east of Troy off of Highway 47 incentral Lincoln County. For more information, contactBruce Schuette at the park at 636-528-7247.16

CaptionScott WoodburyShaw Nature Reserve’s ExperimentalPrairie and Prairie GardensShaw Nature Reserve in Gray Summit, Missouri,a satellite facility of the Missouri BotanicalGarden, is a showcase of natural communityrestoration and construction. Included in its2,400 acres are more than 10 miles of hikingtrails through the Shaw Bottomland Forest StateNatural Area, glades, woodlands, constructedwetlands and prairie areas, and a wildflower garden.Shaw Nature Reserve (SNR) also is a leaderin environmental education and native plantlandscaping.Approximately 250 acres of constructed prairiehabitat at SNR began with 76 acres plantedin 1980, thanks to financial assistance from theMissouri Prairie Foundation. From its humblebeginnings as a low-diversity planting of fourgrasses and four forbs, this planting graduallygained additional species through spontaneouscolonization, transplanting and overseeding.It has also become excellent habitat for prairiefauna.The original 76-acre planting is now hometo about 200 plant species. Some of these areexotics, including noxious species such as sericealespedeza and the sweet clovers, these being controlledthrough annual vigilance and judicious useof mowing and herbicide. Annual or biennial fireis an important part of the overall management ofthe SNR prairie complex and all adjacent woodlands.Approximately half of the prairie acreage isburned each winter, preferably when the groundis frozen or at least, wet and cold, thus protectingthe winter hiding places of many prairie insects.Additional plantings have continued throughthe years, with the latest five-acre addition sowedin the winter of 2007 in an area sporting a teepeeand a sod house, which are central to the reserve’seven-numbered years’ celebration of Prairie Day.Thanks to the additional plantings and the variedsoil conditions and hydrology of the landscape,total prairie plant species diversity now approaches300 species, including those in the wetlandscomplex.James TragerShooting stars bloomin spring on a recentlyestablished prairieplanting near theWhitmire WildflowerGarden at Shaw NatureReserve, top, and acicada killer wasp(Sphecius speciosus) visitsa rattlesnake masterflower head on theexperimental prairie atthe reserve.17

St. Louis Area Urban PrairiesThe acreage nowbrimming with prairiespecies at Shaw NatureReserve (bottom photo)was formerly a fescuepasture dotted witheastern red cedar, below.Thanks to decades ofwork by MPF boardmember Bill Davit,reserve biologist Dr.James Trager, and manyother former and currentstaff and volunteers, thereserve’s grasslands aretoday rich and diverse.With plants in bloom from the first appearancein spring of lousewort, cream indigo, shootingstar and Indian paintbrush to the grand finaleof asters, goldenrods and gentians in fall, theflora of the SNR is a joy to behold and servesas a great learning resource for St. Louis areaplant enthusiasts. It is also home to a diversityof prairie animal life, including such highlightsas healthy breeding populations of prairie kingsnakes,northern yellowthroats and Henslow’ssparrows in the more open areas, and indigo buntings,orchard orioles and yellow-breasted chatsin brushier parts andwooded edges. Plansare afoot to furtherenhance the diversityof the SNR prairies,including developmentof sufficientpopulations of prairieand arrow-leavedviolets to supportan introduction of the threatened regal fritillarybutterfly, which was once native to the St. Louisregion.Finally, and rather more forb-rich but neverthelessever less distinct ecologically from thereserve’s original prairie constructions, are thespacious and showy prairie plantings associatedwith the Whitmire Wildflower Garden. Startingas a one-acre prairie garden, SNR’s horticulturestaff has gradually expanded prairie plantingsonto the gently rolling acreage south of the moreformal parts of the garden. In the garden itself,prairie plants are labeled, as are several hundredother Missouri native plant species.Dr. James Trager, biologist,Shaw Nature ReserveLocation: Shaw Nature Reserve is located at theintersection of Interstate 44 and Highway 100at Gray Summit. For more information,visit www.shawnature.org or call 636-451-3512.Bill davitScott WoodburyThe Litzsinger RoadEcology Center PrairieThe Litzsinger Road Ecology Center (LREC) is a34.5-acre environmental education center managedby the Missouri Botanical Garden and islocated in St. Louis County. The LREC is notopen to the public. Primarily the facilities andgrounds are used for K-12 student field studyand ecological research. Students in St. Louis areaschools visit the site multiple times throughoutthe year to learn about restored prairie, bottomlandforest, and creek ecosystems throughscientific inquiry and by helping with ecologicalrestoration. The LREC averages several thousandstudent visits per year. The LREC also offers fiveresearch grants each year to undergraduate, graduateand faculty researchers to conduct ecologicalresearch on site. Current research projects includethe effects of invasive plant species on nativeplant species pollination, invasion patterns of the18

Japanese pavement ant, movement of rattlesnakemaster pollinators, structure and organization ofurban butterfly communities, and interactionsbetween wild senna and herbivores.Restoration efforts began on site in 1989with the restoration of 10 acres of mesic to wetmesic prairie. The original restoration effortincluded grass seeds from a nursery near KansasCity and locally collected forb seeds. Prairie restorationhas continued with another two acresof prairie restored between 1999 and 2007.The seeds for this restoration were all collectedwithin 100 miles of the LREC. The big bluestemwas collected from Calvary Cemetery andis now being collected from the LREC restorationto contribute to the restoration of CalvaryCemetery’s prairie. The prairie restorations haveapproximately 216 plant species, of which 179are native to Missouri. Characteristic plants ofwet mesic prairie that are present at the LRECinclude big bluestem, prairie cord grass, switchgrass, sweet coneflower, foxglove beardtongue,rattlesnake master, bottle gentian, ragged orchid,and bunchflower.The 14 acres of bottomland forest at theLREC are in the process of restoration. Becauseof the proximity to Deer Creek, an urban stream,the forest often experiences flash flooding, sedimentdeposition, and the invasive plant speciesoutbreaks that follow. The creek also bringswater-loving wildlife to the area, however. Nearly100 species of birds, 18 species of mammals, 10species of amphibians, 23 species of reptiles, andmany species of invertebrates have been recordedat the LREC.Malinda W. Slagle, restoration ecologist,Litzsinger Road Ecology CenterThe LREC is not open to the public, but if you areinterested in conducting a K-12 field study or ecologicalresearch at the LREC, please contact MarthaSchermann at martha.schermann@mobot.org or314-442-6717.Canada wild rye grass,top, catches the lightat the Litzsinger RoadEcology Center prairie.Hundreds of studentsvisit the LREC prairieevery year, learningabout an ecosystem thatonce covered 17% ofSt. Louis County.CaptionBilL Davit Photos Heather Wells-sweeney19

St. Louis Area Urban PrairiesCarol DavitVisitors to the KennedyWoods Savanna,above, can enjoy thestately oaks, grassesand wildflowers fromwalking and bikingpaths through the area.Another grassland atForest Park, at right,is the Deer Lake WetSavanna Complex,pictured here withseveral aster species inbloom.Forest Park GrasslandsTwo areas in the City of St. Louis’s Forest Parkhave been transformed in the last ten years withprairie and savanna vegetation. Established firstwas the Kennedy Woods Savanna, near the ArtMuseum and between Kennedy Woods andSkinker Boulevard. Inspired to create a grasslandarea at the park after a visit to Prairie State Parkin 1996, Missouri Prairie Foundation (MPF) andKennedy Woods Advisory Group member KenCohen pitched the idea at an MPF board meeting.The board responded with $1,500 to begin asavanna project among the stately oaks growingalong the edge of Kennedy Woods.Gary Schimmelpfenig, project manager withDJM Ecoscapes, Restoration and Management,produced a plan for the site and organized volunteerprairie seed collecting for the project in1998 at Shaw Nature Reserve in Gray Summit,Missouri, and Gordon Moore Prairie in EastAlton, Illinois. The area was treated with glyphosate(generic Round-Up) that fall. In May 1999,22 volunteers hand-scattered the seed (about 15pounds of shade mix and 75 pounds of sun mix).In what previously was just another area ofmowed lawn is today a constructed savanna withGary Schimmelpfeniglush wildflowers and grasses growing beneathmammoth oaks. It is alive with insects and birds,and people experiencing a landscape original tothe Midwest.The second area in Forest Park now distinguishedby prairie vegetation is the DeerLake Wet Savanna Complex. Located at theeastern end of Forest Park in the Deer Lake andSteinberg areas, the complex covers approximately15 acres and features plants native to prairie,savanna, and bottomland forest. Included in thecomplex is a flowing stream lined with limestoneand simulated limestone bluffs.20

The complex was designed by the landscapearchitectural firm of Oehme, van Sweden andAssociates, Inc. The design included five palettes—differentassemblages of plant species forprairie, savanna and bottomland forest areas—forthe Deer Lake area and eight palettes for theSteinberg area. The plantings were installed byDJM Ecoscapes, Restoration and Management.Before planting, glyphosate was applied toexisting vegetation in September 2002 and thenative seed was installed in February 2003 usinga no-till Truax seed drill. Shade-tolerant specieswere seeded based upon tree shade patterns.Several thousand plugs were also planted includingcommon boneset, rough blazing star, sweetconeflower, swamp milkweed, golden ragwort,and switchgrass, as well as sedges, rushes andwetland emergent plants. Today, the complex isvisually stunning, with drifts of wildflowers andgrasses blooming throughout the growing season.Location: Forest Park is 1,293 acres in the City ofSt. Louis. It is bounded by Oakland Ave./Hwy.40/64 to the south, Skinker Blvd. to the west,Lindell Blvd. to the north and Kingshighway to theeast. For more information, contact Forest ParkForever at 314-367-7275.21

St. Louis Area Urban PrairiesJan OberkramerAttending the RogerPryor Memorial PrairieGarden dedicationceremony on November11, 2006, are from left,Roger Pryor’s son-in-lawKen Dickenson, Kay Drey,and son Andrew Pryor.Conservationist LeoDrey and Green Centerstaff, volunteers, andfriends also attendedthe ceremony. Beforehis death in 1999,Roger Pryor was thesenior environmentalpolicy director for theMissouri Coalition for theEnvironment. For morethan three decades,he worked to protectMissouri’s naturalresources.Green Center Prairie ProjectsNow six years old, the Roger Pryor MemorialPrairie Garden was planted in June of 2001 at theGreen Center in University City. Funds for thePrairie Garden were raised by the Green Centerin Roger Pryor’s memory and were matched by agrant from the Missouri Prairie Foundation.The garden is a mixture of low-growingprairie grasses and flowering forbs and has pathsthrough the garden. All the plants are local ecotypesfrom within a 100-mile radius of the GreenCenter. These include Warrenton Red littlebluestem from Warren County, Missouri, anda lovely blue Canada wild rye from Illinois. Thegarden is a wonderful urban native plant garden,full of plants that bloom throughout the seasonand look great in the winter. Roger Pryor lovedprairies and he would have undoubtedly lovedthis prairie garden. With the help of volunteers,the Green Center maintains the garden by weeding,mowing and burning. A prairie dropseedborder planted around the garden and its pathwayscreates a more formal look.A quarter mile from the Green Center, nextto Brittany Woods School, is the Green Center’shalf-acre prairie. This prairie was planted in 1990by Ed Murray, who was a science teacher at theschool. This prairie contains taller grasses like bigbluestem and Indian grass, white wild indigo, andmany other forbs and grasses. The Green Centerprairies are teaching tools for the science classesand summer camps that the Center offers to studentsthroughout the St. Louis metropolitan area.The Green Center is also a partner in theCalvary Cemetery Prairie Restoration Project,along with the Archdiocese of St. Louis CatholicCemeteries, the Missouri Department ofConservation, The Nature Conservancy and theMissouri Botanical Garden. Called the CalvaryCemetery Prairie Partnership, these organizationsare working to preserve and restore this valuablenatural and historic resource.The goal of the Calvary Cemetery PrairieRestoration Project is to restore a diverse, viableprairie remnant and to integrate this resourceinto the fabric of local and regional life. Given itsAdrian Brownproximity to the graves of influential St. Louisfigures, the prairie at Calvary Cemetery (seebelow) presents a unique opportunity to link thehuman and ecological history of the St. Louisregion. Its value lies not only with its restorationpotential, but in what it uniquely represents: a“last of its kind” place for people in St. Louis toexperience a native prairie ecosystem.Jane Schaefer, MPF member and oneof the founders of the Green Center. Jane hasbeen board chair of The Green Centerfor the past two years and oversees theCenter’s native gardens.Location and contacts: The Green Center islocated at 8025 Blackberry Avenue, UniversityCity. For more information about Green Centerprairie projects, visit www.thegreencenter.org, callthe center at 314-725-8314 or e-mail ExecutiveDirector Susan Mintz at smintz@thegreencenter.org or Restoration Manager Carissa Gigliotti atcgigliotti@thegreencenter.org.Calvary Cemetery PrairieWithin the 477 acres of historic CalvaryCemetery in north St. Louis are approximately25 acres containing patches of native prairie. Thisis perhaps the last remaining remnant within theHighway 270 corridor of a landscape that oncecovered nearly two-thirds of the city.Calvary Cemetery was formally incorporatedin March 1857, when Archbishop Peter Richard22

Kenrick purchased and dedicated this land to anew cemetery. The existing prairie remnant isnear the grave of St. Louis co-founder AugusteChouteau. Other notable St. Louisans buried atCalvary include Dred Scott, General William T.Sherman, the writers Tennessee Williams andKate Chopin, and Surveyor General AntoineSoulard.“The Archdiocese has agreed to protectand set aside this prairie remnant for the next100 years to allow for the management of thissignificant piece of prairie,” said Msg. RobertMcCarthy, the archdiocese’s cemeteries director.“This is an opportunity to preserve one of thejewels in the St. Louis landscape and include ourlocal community in this collaborative effort tocelebrate and learn from this unique find.”While 130 species of native flowering plantshave been identified in the prairie, the remnantis severely deteriorated, according to Doug Ladd,director of conservation science for the Missourichapter of The Nature Conservancy. Exotic speciesinfestation, encroachment of woody vegetation,fire suppression and past land-use historyhave all taken their toll on the prairie.Members of the Calvary Cemetery PrairiePartnership are working to protect, restore andsustain this prairie remnant. In the fall of 2005,native grass seeds were harvested at the site andplanted this past June. The Nature Conservancy,one of the partners in the project, is monitoringprogress of the restoration, and, along withthe Missouri Department of Conservation, willconduct prescribed burns of the prairie. TheMissouri Botanical Garden is providing scientificexpertise and the facilities for the cultivation ofnative plants. The Green Center of UniversityCity will lead community outreach and educationprograms and provide leadership in coordinatingcommunity volunteers for conservation activities.Adapted from a January 31, 2006 MissouriBotanical Garden press releaseLocation and directions: Calvary Cemetery is locatedat 5239 W. Florissant Avenue, St. Louis. To reachthe cemetery by car from downtown St. Louis,take I-70 west to the W. Florissant exit (Exit 245B).Merge onto W. Florissant and proceed 0.9 milesto the entrance to the cemetery. The cemeterygates are open daily 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Inquireat the cemetery office for directions to the prairie.Cemetery office telephone number: 314-381-1313.Howell Prairie at the Weldon Spring SiteIn 2003, the U.S. Department of Energy planted150 acres with native prairie species at WeldonSpring in St. Charles County around a 70-foothighrock-covered radioactive waste repository.Referred to as the “Weldon Spring DisposalCell,” the repository or mound stores wastes createdwhen the area was used in the 1940s, ’50sand ’60s first for producing explosives and laterfor processing uranium ore concentrates.Called Howell Prairie in recognition of thelarge presettlement prairie that once existed inthe area (6,400 acres—10 square miles), theconstructed grassland is open to the public fromdawn to dusk and may be viewed from a milelongtrail around the mound, or from atop themound. Also open to the public is a five-acreinterpretive garden composed of prairie plantsand native trees and shrubs, and an interpretivecenter that presents exhibits and information onthe history of the site.In April 2006, the Hamburg Trail, a 10-milerecreational path running through the area, wasdedicated. The trail connects the KATY Trail andBusch Conservation Area and is open to pedestriansand bicyclists.Bill Davit, MPF board member andHowell Prairie Council memberLocation and directions: 7295 Highway 94 South,St. Charles, MO 63303. From Hwy. 40/64 or Hwy.70, exit at Hwy. 94 and continue south to just pastHwy. D. Telephone: 636-441-8066.U.S. Dept. of EnergyThe prairie at CalvaryCemetery, lower photo,facing page, is perhapsthe St. Louis area’sonly remaining tract oforiginal prairie withinthe I-270 corridor. Incontrast, the HowellPrairie planting, above,is in the very earlystages of construction.The white mound inthe background is thedisposal cell.23

St. Louis Area Urban PrairiesPrairie Garden Profile:Klondike ParkDo you cringe when you see trees planted in narrowlittle parking lot strips? If so, visit KlondikePark in St. Charles County and cringe no more!Within the park, which formerly was a quarry ona bluff overlooking the Missouri River, is a conferencecenter with a “prairie strip” in its parkinglot. The strip is planted with 27 different speciesof native, drought-tolerant prairie plants withinits 18” wide × 290’ long boundaries. The plantsflower from March through November.In addition to providing an attractive, lowmaintenancelandscaping feature, the prairiestrip is frequently admired by gardening groupsand girl scouts who visit the area to learn andpractice their plant identification skills.Klondike Park is on South Highway 94between Defiance and Augusta. For more information,call Gail Schatzler, horticulture supervisorwith St. Charles County Parks and Recreationat 636-949-1830.Gail SchatzlerGail SchatzlerRain GardenProfile:MissouriMasterNaturalists’Rain GardenIf you’re driving down SouthMain Street in St. Charles, takea quick detour east to RiversideDrive. You will feast your eyes onthe newly completed MissouriMaster Naturalists’ drive-by raingarden project on the riverfront.It is just north of, and part of, theLewis and Clark Boathouse andNature Center.Sandwiched between anasphalt parking lot, a cementdriveway, and a rock and steelbuilding, this 30’ × 90’ space wasthe dumping site for leftoverbuilding materials in the past.The site also contained an aluminumflagpole, giant storm drains,electrical conduits and sewagepipes. To top off the harsh growingenvironment, the soil variedfrom moist and wet to cementlikeand sandy.Nevertheless, beginningin March 2006, the ConfluenceChapter of the Missouri MasterNaturalists crossed their fingersand rolled up their sleeves intrue “can-do” style, and beganwork on the garden. Over thenext year and a half, in the faceof flash storms, drought andrecent river flooding, membersturned an ugly duckling into ascott barnes Lee Phillionlee phillionMPF member Leslie Limberg introduces teachersto the rain garden, who in a four-day conferencelearned to use the site as a teachingtool for outdoor education and field trips.Before and after: Master Naturalists beganwork on the rain garden in the spring of 2006,and the garden looked great a year later.swan. More than 79 plant species were planted in the garden, including little and bigbluestem grasses, penstemon species, joe pye weed, cord grass and prairie dock.Not only is the garden beautiful to look at, but it effectively filters and slowsrainwater runoff. Now when rainwater pours off the pavement, it travels through therain garden’s new topography, plant life, river rocks, boulders and fallen logs beforeemptying into the garden’s storm drains, which carry the water into the Big Muddy,20 feet away.Leslie Limberg, MPF member and master naturalistIf you know of a rain garden or prairie garden in Missouri that you would like to see featured in the Journal, let us know.Contact Editor Carol Davit at davitleahy@earthlink.net or 1311 Moreland Avenue, Jefferson City, MO 65101.24

Visit An MPF Prairie•Runge PrairiePrairie Fork ExpansionBruns TractFriendly PrairieDrovers PrairieKansas City*•••St. Louis*Schwartz PrairieStilwell PrairieGay Feather PrairieLattner PrairieEdgar & RuthDenison PrairieCoyne Prairie••••• • •*SpringfieldGolden PrairiePenn-Sylvania PrairieLa Petite Gemme PrairieImperviousHigh Density UrbanLow Density UrbanBarren or Sparsely VegetatedCroplandGrassland (native and non-native)Deciduous ForestEvergreen ForestMixed ForestDeciduous Woody/HerbaceousEvergreen Woody/HerbaceousWoody Dominated WetlandHerbaceous Dominated WetlandOpen waterSome late summer and fall prairie highlights: prairie grasses turning gold, purple, brown and red; pink and purple asters,migrating monarch butterflies; dewy spiderwebs; silken milkweed seeds; golden sunflowers; blue sage; and jewel-like gentians.For information about and directions to MPF prairies, contact the MPF office in Columbia at 1-888-843-6739 or 573-442-5842.Map credit: MoRAP, Missouri Resource Assessment Partnership25

A Rich Man’s GardenOn a Teacher’s PensionBy Jerry W. BrownAll photos by the authorEvery year since 1994, when I retired fromteaching, I converted an acre or so of oldfield on my property in rural Lincoln Countyto prairie plants. The whole field has been plantednow and comprises close to 12 acres of prairie rangingfrom 13 years to less then a year of development.While a prairie garden—like any garden—is never“done,” I feel a sense of satisfaction at having convertedthis acreage, and I continue to improve andenjoy it. Perhaps my experiences and observationswill help other prairie garden enthusiasts.I came to the planting of prairies as a gardener,not as a botanist or naturalist. My first article forthe Missouri Prairie Journal was “The Conversionof a Gardener” (Summer 1999). It told the storyof how I created my first half-acre prairie gardenand how I was “converted” from revering Englishgardens to honoring American native plant gardens.In my second article, “The Case for PrairieGardens” (Summer 2000), I discussed the ecologicand economic reasons for planting prairies,explained how all the goals of serious gardenerscould be achieved by prairie gardening and suggestedthat because of the unique combination ofgrasses and wildflowers, prairie gardens could besuperior to traditional herbaceous borders.Twenty-eight years ago when I built mylittle house here, I started planting an Englishgarden around it with mixed borders of smalltrees, shrubs, evergreens, roses, perennials, andornamental grasses. As the less vigorous of theseplants have died (all the roses), I have replacedthem with prairie grasses and wildflowers. Nowmany of the species from the surrounding prairie26

have seeded themselves into this garden, and Irefuse to weed them out, because they are notweeds. The most invasive plant here is NewEngland aster, and I welcome it. Some of thewildflowers that didn’t do well in the prairie haveflourished after they moved themselves into thegarden. Native plants have a talent for plantingthemselves in exactly the rightplace, and not just in termsof cultural requirements butalso in terms of design. Switchgrass seeded itself right at thecorner of the lily pool where itmakes a perfect accent. Swampaster (Aster puniceus) seededitself along the edge of thedeck where it sends up its largesprays of blue flowers in thefall. Maryland senna seededitself along a path where itsspikes of yellow pea flowers,and later, black seedpods, areperfectly displayed.I have learned that if Ihave a diversity of native plantsin the garden, no single speciescan threaten the others andweeding is unnecessary. WhenI was trying to grow roses,smartweed was an invasiveenemy that required sweatylabor to eliminate. Now when it appears in thegarden, it never gets out of control, and I canaccept it and appreciate its beauty. The Englishgarden is no longer perfectly groomed. In fact, itis scruffy and disheveled, but it makes a perfectwild bird garden. Stocked with a dozen feeders, itis full of birds year-round.In addition to increasing the ground covered,I have tried every year to increase the diversityof species, so there is considerable botanicalinterest here now. As of 2006, 186 prairie specieswere growing here. Of course some of thesenumbered only two or three specimens, butmany numbered in the hundreds.For some species, just addpatience: Last fall I collectedseed from these bottle gentiansand scattered it in wet areas.Five years from now, I’ll startlooking for its closed, bottleshapedblooms.When I first started growing prairie plantsI was surprised how quickly many developedinto big vigorous plants that would bloom thefirst year from seed. But I soon discovered thatsome species such as gentian, shooting star, wildhyacinth, and prairie trout lily were impossiblefor me to grow in the greenhouse. I did learn,however, that they could begrown into flowering plantsby simply scattering the seedand waiting five to eight years.I learned this first from thedowny gentian. After failing togrow this plant in the nursery,I scattered some seed in theprairie. Five years later, discoveringthe brilliant sapphireblue blooms of downy gentiannestled among the grasses wasone of the great joys of prairiegardening. These flowers are ofsuch superb quality you wouldthink they required the greatesteffort and skill to grow, butall they require is patience.Now I am concentratingon establishing rare andmore difficult species. Lastyear I bought three plants ofclosed or bottle gentian fromMissouri Wildflowers Nursery(Mervin Wallace is a better nurseryman than I).Last fall I collected seed from the plants andscattered it in wet areas. Five years from now,I’ll start looking for its closed, bottle-shaped blueblooms. The pale gentian is well established here,using the same technique from a plant I boughteight years ago. This past spring I found morethan a hundred prairie trout lilies blooming here.These came from a handful of seed I collectedfrom a roadside prairie remnant eight years ago.Shooting stars and wild hyacinths are establishedhere using the same process of collecting andscattering seed and being patient.The prairie has turned me into somethingof a naturalist. During the last four years, I havetourJerry Brown is hostinga tour of his plantedprairie for MPF memberson September 29,from 1:30 to 5:00 p.m.,and a potluck dinnerwill be held from 5:00to 6:00 p.m. Pleasebring a side dish ordessert, your ownbeverage and a lawnchair. Hawk Point isin Lincoln County onstate route 47,11 miles north of theintersection of I-70and 47 at Warrentonand 8 miles west ofthe intersection of61 and 47 at Troy.Directions from thefour-way stop in HawkPoint: West on A 1.4miles to Turkey CreekRoad on right. Northon Turkey Creek 1 mileto Zalabak Road onleft. West on Zalabak0.3 mile to BluestemLane on right. North/west on Bluestem 0.5mile to #175 on right.RSVP to Jerry Brown,P.O. Box 212, HawkPoint, MO 63349,636-338-9298,jwb175@accessus.net.27

Top, sweet coneflowerstems spill into a pathof Jerry Brown’s originalEnglish garden, nowa perfect bird garden.Above, queen-of-theprairieand cordgrass aretwo of the wet prairieplants that Jerry hasestablished around theedge of his small lake.observed and studied Missouri birds more thanever before. The more I planted, the more birds Iheard and saw. I have now identified 116 speciesof native birds here in prairie, garden, lake, andwoods.The first grassland birds here were easternmeadowlarks and northern bobwhite. The sweetsong of the meadowlarks is one of the first songsof spring. The quail are here year-round. In thesummer I hear them calling and clucking for theirbrood in the prairie grasses. This winter a covey of17 came to the bird feeders in the garden twice aday. Four years ago dickcissels arrived here withmuch loud singing of their name from perches onthe prairie plants and the electric line above theprairie. In July of that same summer sedge wrensarrived and started their buzzy singing in the prairiegrasses. Both species have returned every yearsince. I have never searched for their nest, but Iassume from their behavior that they are breeding.Four years ago close to eight acres of prairiewere fully developed here. Perhaps that is theminimum grassland required for dickcissel andsedge wren habitat.Once in spring and once in autumn, I caughta glimpse of a LeConte’s sparrow, a rare, furtive,orange-faced bird that quickly disappears downin the tall grass. In winter, swamp, Americantree, and song sparrows are flitting through thetall grasses. In summer they are replaced by fieldand chipping sparrows, common yellowthroatsand indigo buntings. Eight nest boxes on poststhroughout the prairie have been occupied for thelast 10 years by eastern bluebirds and occasionallyby tree swallows. On summer evenings treeand barn swallows are swooping above the prairiefeeding on insects. Late last summer they werejoined for a few days by a large flock of northernrough-winged swallows.Because the prairie is adjacent to garden andwoodland, birds of these habitats use the prairie,not for breeding but for food and shelter. Twosummers ago, I put the binoculars on a commonyellowthroat singing from an indigo bushin the prairie. I was surprised when I saw a maleblue grosbeak in the view. He was such a darkblue that he wasn’t visible to the naked eye. AsI watched, he flew down into the prairie to joinan orange-brown bird, the female blue grosbeak.28

The rest of that summer he would sing everyevening from the electric line above the prairie,and I would regularly see the female down inthe prairie. These birds are rare around here, butobviously they are attracted to the prairie. Theyreturned here last summer.I have not studied the insects in the prairie asmuch as the birds, but I have made some observations.Dragonflies, garden spiders and butterfliesare beautiful inhabitants of the prairie. These arethe butterfly species I have identified here: Tiger,zebra and giant swallowtails, cabbage white,clouded sulphurs, cloudless sulphurs, paintedlady, question mark angelwing, comma angelwing,buckeye, red admiral, great spangled fritillary,pearl crescent, viceroy and monarch.One insect has done considerable damagein the prairie since three summers ago when Ifirst noticed that the terminal flower buds ofcompass plant, prairie dock, and ashy sunflowerwere falling over and rotting without fully developing.According to Emily C. Kluger from theUniversity of Illinois, this damage is causedby the head-clipping weevil, Haplorhynchitesaeneusa. Kluger states that “this prairie endemiccan cause significant damage to Silphium speciesby clipping flower stems, severing resin canalsand ovipositing in disk flowers. Larva developin the dangling flower heads, feeding on pollenor in seeds” (from an abstract of a presentationto the American Entomological Society). In myprairie they also damage Helianthus species. I wasnever able to find these weevils because they dotheir clipping at night, although Jack Harris ofthe Missouri Native Plant Society showed mehow to find them by cupping my hand under aflower and shaking it to make the weevil fall out.They usually don’t attack lateral later bloomingflowers, but they considerably reduce the floraldisplay and seed production.One mammal also causes damage in myprairie. This is the meadow vole, Microtus pennsylvanicus,a short-tailed herbivore rodent. Aftera burn, I find their runways in the thatch andempty holes around compass plants and prairiedock where they have eaten away the roots. Theseplants usually recover from this damage andresprout, but the population of Liatris specieshere has been reduced because the voles can completelydevour the corms from which they grow.My first half-acre prairie planting I calleda “prairie garden.” Now that I have 12 acres ofprairie, it seems too big to call a garden. “Prairierestoration” is a term frequently used, but tome it is problematic because it implies restoringsomething that once was here. I don’t know whatthe presettlement vegetation of my field was. Ionly know that for many years it was planted torow crops and then to timothy grass that becameinvaded by fescue. Some prairie species such asfoxglove beardtongue, heath aster, partridge pea,and goldenrod were already in the field, and IA pink form of NewEngland aster bloomsabundantly on Jerry’sproperty, bottom left.Below is a view of Jerry’ssmall lake, which is habitatfor cattails, waterlilies and pickerel weed.Beyond the lake is a prairieplanting initiated lessthan a year ago, coveredwith black-eyed Susans.Beyond it is a six-yearoldprairie planting.29

Prairie dropseed grass,broad prairie dockleaves and lead plantcreate a pleasing mix ofcontrasting forms andcolors.found Culver’s root and prairie Indian plantainhiding out in the woods. Prairie grasses and forbsare growing on the roadsides all around here, andfive miles away there are vast flat fields of corn,soybeans, and sod that the locals still call “ThePrairie.” So my field possibly could have beennatural prairie two hundreds years ago, but therewould still be a problem considering what I havedone as a “restoration.”In his presentation Grassland Redux: TheOrigin, Destruction, and Resurrection of ourTallgrass Heritage, Doug Ladd emphasizes thatbecause prairies are such rich complexes of plants,mammals, birds, insects, microbes, and humans,we don’t know enough yet to actually “restore” aprairie. What James Trager wrote about plantedprairies in the Missouri Prairie Journal (Fall 2006)caught my attention: “ . . . it has come to beunderstood that even a highly diverse plantingdoth not a prairie make: The almost unfathomablediversity of insects, microbes, mosses, fungior vertebrates large and small that are integral tothe nutrient cycling, population regulation andother ecological functions of MDC the illustration prairie can notbe “planted” along with vegetation.”Because of the insufficiencies of plantedprairies, I have decided I will continue to thinkof my prairie as a garden. I never tried to recreatea natural prairie. Instead I deliberately planted adesigned, artificial prairie organized so it wouldgive me the same aesthetic pleasure as a garden.As a gardener I am satisfied that this prairie plantingis a success. As I walk around and through it,my eyes are filled by the beautiful shapes, colors,and contrasts of all the grasses and wildflowers.This 12-acre prairie garden plus the matureoak-hickory woodland, the wild bird garden, andthe lake amount to 20 acres—a rich man’s garden.Because of the ease and economy of workingwith native plants, I was able to create this richman’s garden on a Missouri public school teacher’spension. And now that it is fully planted andeasy to maintain, I can afford to keep it.Jerry Brown, a retired English teacher,lives near Hawk Point, Missouri.30

Richard’s Prairie Management AdviceSeptember through November ChoresLarge wildfires followed by roamingbison herds once kept the prairieclear of trees and created a diversityof grassland structure that provided habitatfor an abundance of ground-nestingbirds such as quail, eastern meadowlarksand grasshopper sparrows. An Audubonreport from this past June reported massivedeclines in these once common birds.To bring them back, habitat restoration iscritical, but just as important is long-termgrassland management. This column talksgenerally about land management and therationale for doing so.I keep busy throughout the year witha mix of activities designedConserving andmaintaining nativeprairie is always easierthan restoring degradedones or than creatinga prairie planting. Seepage 35 to see how youcan help save originalprairie through the PrairieProtection Network.to mimic the natural processesthat were in placebefore Missouri was settledby pioneers. I cut treesto re-connect patches ofgrassland. I spray invasiveexotic plants such as sericealespedeza and teasel thatsmother native vegetation.I conduct prescribed burnsto regenerate the plant community.I re-seed areas withnative grasses, wildflowersand other broadleaf plants.None of these activities areoverly complicated, and with a little advice,anyone can restore and manage a Missourigrassland, if willing to put in the work.In the last issue of the Journal, I wroteabout spot-spraying sericea lespedeza. I’vejust finished a summer season where twopart-time employees helped me search forand treat “the nightmare weed” in morethan 2,500 acres of Missouri prairie. We’doften start at first light so we could be doneby noon to beat the worst of the heat. It ishard work, but if neglected, the plants willgo to seed, and battling sericea will becomemuch worse the next year. For most landowners,this important activity will take lessthan one weekend.Fall is the time to begin cutting unwantedtrees. Again, remember to treat the cutstumps with herbicide or you’ll be fightingre-sprouts next year. The easiest method isto put Tordon RTU (ready-to-use herbicidecontaining picloram and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyaceticacid) in an applicator bottle with apermeable top and just wipe the herbicideon the freshly cut stump. (Be sure to followlabel instructions and ensure that herbicideswill not enter waterways or wetlands.)If you’re planning a late-season prescribedburn, be sure to put in good fire linesand consult with someonewho has done a burn before.Typically, USDA countyoffices can provide advice.Late-season burns favor wildflowersinstead of grasses.Burning one-third to onehalfof your small acreage isa good guideline. Withoutburning, plant material wecall litter or duff tends tobuild up. A prairie that hasn’tbeen burned or cut for haycan become so thick withduff that it becomes almostuseless for ground-nestingbirds in only two seasons. Unfortunatelymuch of Missouri’s Conservation ReserveProgram acres are in that condition, but newmid-contract management provisions aredesigned to keep these grasslands diverseand useful.The Missouri Prairie Foundation (MPF)recommends that landowners plant nativeseed in the winter so that the freezing andthawing action can work the seeds into thesoil naturally. Now is the time to plan a dormant-seasonplanting by lining up sourcesfor native seed and checking fields to see ifthey are free of undesirable plant species.The two main reasons for failure in a nativeseeding are planting the seeds too deepand planting into a field that is not properlyprepared.Recently a member contacted meabout preparing a fescue field for a prairieseeding. Rather than spray the fescuerepeatedly in one year to try to get it readyfor a winter seeding, it is almost always betterto find a farmer to grow Roundup Readysoybeans on the property for two seasons.While it is hard to wait that long, especiallysince prairie wildflowers can take up tothree years after planting to flower, if youplant prairie seeds into a field full of fescueand sericea, you can expect disappointingresults and endless management. Of courseif you suspect that your field has native speciesalong with the fescue, it is possible touse a combination of well-timed fire andchemical treatment to favor the natives.MPF recommends that you only plow afield or use a non-selective herbicide likeRoundup if you are sure there are no nativespresent.Operations Manager Richard Datemahas been managing MPF prairiessince being hired as the first full-timeemployee of MPF in1998. He andhis wife Mia live in Springfieldwith their four children.As always, please send questions aboutprairie management to missouriprairie@yahoo.com, and Richard will do his bestto answer your questions right away. Someresponses may be used in a future issue ofthe Journal. To see past land managementcolumns, visit www.moprairie.org .31

Calendar of Prairie-Related EventsSeptember 20–21, 2007 SericeaLespedeza Multi-State WorkingGroup Meeting. Clinton, MO. Sericealespedeza control studies by MDC’sResource Science Grassland FieldStation will be featured. The meetingwill be held in Clinton, MO. Formore information contact MPFtechnical advisor Steve Clubine atsteve.clubine@mdc.mo.gov or660-885-6981.September 27–28, 2007 Patch-BurnGrazing Multi-State Working GroupMeeting. Based in Nevada, MO, themeeting will include visits to patchburn/grazing studies at Taberville,Wah’kon-tah, and other prairies. Guestsare welcome but attendance will belimited. Contact: Norman Murray atNorman.Murray@mdc.mo.gov.September 29, 2007 PrairieRestoration Tour. MPF member JerryBrown will host a tour of his prairierestoration near Hawk Point, MO. Atour will be held from 1:30 to 5:00 p.m.and a potluck dinner will be held from5:00 to 6:00 p.m. Please bring a sidedish or dessert, your own beverageAbove, a fly species on a prairie leaf; top,stigma of a poppy mallow flower; facingpage, vervain and gray-headed coneflowers.Noppadol paothong/MDCand a lawn chair. Hawk Point is inLincoln County on state route 47,11 miles north of the intersectionof I-70 and 47 at Warrenton and 8miles west of the intersection of 61and 47 at Troy. Directions from thefour-way stop in Hawk Point: Weston A 1.4 mile to Turkey Creek Roadon right. North on Turkey Creek 1mile to Zalabak Road on left. West onZalabak 0.3 mile to Bluestem Lane onright. North/west on Bluestem0.5 mile to #175 on right. RSVP toJerry Brown, P.O. Box 212, HawkPoint, MO 63349, 636-338-9298,jwb175@accessus.net.September 29, 2007 7:00 p.m.Prairie Promenade at Prairie StatePark. Stroll with a guide along a shorttrail to glimpse wild animals thatcome out when the sun goes down.This event will begin and end at thevisitor center. Participants will betaken in groups by an interpreterto several stations while hiking theprairie in the evening. Once the hikesare complete, all the participants willmeet in the visitor center parking lotfor a campfire, stories and a specialanimal guest. This event requires preregistrationby calling 417-843-6711,e-mailing to prairie.state.park@dnr.mo.gov or stopping by the visitorcenter. Prairie State Park is locatedin Mindenmines in Barton County.Directions: Go 2 miles west of Liberalon Highway K, then go 2 miles onHighway P. Turn south on the gravelroad to the main entrance to the park.October 8–11, 2007 27th PrairieGrouse Technical Council Meeting.Details of this meeting, to be held atCedar Shore Resort in Chamberlain,SD, are posted on the South DakotaState University Department ofWildlife and Fisheries Sciences Website (http://wfs.sdstate.edu). Themeeting chair is Tom Kirschenmann(Tom.Kirschenmann@state.sd.us).Noppadol paothong/mdc32

Pure PrairieOctober 13, 2007 MPF BoardMeeting at Runge Prairie. Themeeting will begin at 9:00 a.m. andwill conclude at approximately 1:00p.m. to be followed by a luncheonand field day for members andguests. Camping on the prairie willbe permitted overnight on Saturday.Directions: From Kirksville, takeHighway 63 south to Highway 11.Follow 11 west to the junction ofHigh Ridge, also called 419, and turnright (north). High Ridge becomesTimber View, also called 418. RungePrairie is on the south side of theroad. Contact Justin Johnson withquestions at missouriprairie@yahoo.com or 573-356-7828.October 13, 2007 Ninth AnnualEndangered Species Walk/Run Racein Jefferson City. This event raisesfunds to restore habitat, conductresearch, and support educationprojects for endangered plants andanimals in Missouri. As in years past,MPF is a sponsor of the race and willhave an information booth at theNoppadol paothong/mdcevent. Both runs begin at 9:00 a.m.(walk at 8:45) and finish at the NorthJefferson City Pavilion, located nearthe intersections of Highways 63and 54. The race route includes aportion of the KATY Trail. New thisyear: The race route will be certifiedby U.S. Track & Field and chip timed!Timed races are a 5K walk, 5K run anda 10K run. Awards will be given towinners in several age classes. Youthteams are encouraged with reducedregistration fees.This year’s highlighted naturalcommunities are bottomlandhardwood forests and swamps,home to 10% of Missouri’s rare andendangered species. The week ofthe race (October 7–13, 2007) willbe “Missouri Endangered SpeciesAwareness Week” to be proclaimedby Governor Blunt. Educationalactivities will occur at schools,Conservation Nature Centers, andother venues around the state. Ayouth postcard contest will also bepart of the activities; the contestdeadline is October 1, with thepostcards to be displayed in theMissouri Capitol and at the raceOctober 7–13. This event is hostedby the Missouri departments ofNatural Resources, Conservation,and Health and Senior Services; theU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; andJefferson City Parks, Recreation, andForestry. Additional sponsors includeColorGraphic Printing of Springfield,Walmart, AmerenUE, the St. Louis Zooand KRCG 13. For more information,and to register for the race, visithttp://www.mdc.mo.gov/programs/es_walkrun/ or call 573-522-4115 ext.3150.November 30 and December 1,2007 Missouri Livestock Symposium.MPF board members and staff willparticipate in the 2007 MissouriLivestock Symposium in Kirksville.MPF members are welcome andencouraged to attend. The annualevent draws more than 1,500participants and includes discussionson topics such as beef cattle,equine, sheep, goats, stock dogsand forages. MPF President SteveMowry and Executive Director JustinJohnson have been asked to give apresentation during the conservationand wildlife discussion. The MissouriDepartment of Conservation’s MaxAlleger and University of Missouriagricultural economist Joe Horner willalso make presentations. Topics to becovered include “Profitable Pasturesfor Livestock and Wildlife,” “FarmRaised Energy,” “Using Other People’sMoney to Restore Your Property,”and “Hunting Lease Opportunities.”Registration, awards and a dinnerwill be held on Friday night, Nov.30, and the presentations given allday Saturday, Dec. 1. On Saturdayevening the Bellamy Brothers willperform. The symposium is free butall participants must register. Theevent is held at the Kirksville MiddleSchool, 1515 S. Cottage Grove Ave.Lodging in Kirksville often fills upduring this weekend. For completedetails visit www.missourilivestock.com or call 660-665-7049.Other events will be posted on MPF’s newly updated Web site at www.moprairie.org.33

Pure PrairieDay on Wah’Kon-Tah Prairie“ADay on the Prairie” was held on June 9 at Wah’Kon-Tah Prairie to encourage the local and surroundingcommunities to experience the prairie and alsolearn about the efforts being undertaken to conserve thisvital landscape. The 2,858-acre Wah’Kon-Tah Prairie, locatedwithin St. Clair and Cedar Counties near El Dorado Springs,is owned and managed by The Nature Conservancy and theMissouri Department of Conservation. Wah’Kon-Tah is centralto grassland conservation efforts within Missouri as part of theGrasslands Coalition’s El Dorado Springs Prairie Focus Area andMissouri’s Comprehensive Wildlife Strategy, both of which bringmultiple conservation partners and landowners together tofurther conservation of all prairie wildlife in Missouri.More than 350 people participated and enjoyed thenumerous educational displays and interactive activities of thisevent, including prairie insect, plant and bird hikes out into theprairie—chiggers and all. The tallgrass prairie was alive withpale purple coneflower, coreopsis, butterfly milkweed andwild bergamot and songs of meadowlarks and sparrows. Livereptiles and amphibians, mammal pelt and track exhibits, andPhotos Max Allegerstream dynamic displays provided hands-on activities, whileinformational tables supplied information on greater prairiechickenrecovery efforts and grassland management. Familiestraveled on horse-drawn wagons through the prairie, whilelearning about the plants, animals, history and management ofWah’Kon-Tah. Fiddling and other music filled the air and localartists displayed their skills in basket weaving, rug making andwood carving. And the day would not have been completewithout the visit by Boomer, the prairie-chicken mascotof the prairie.Participants in the event included the Missouri Departmentof Conservation, The Nature Conservancy, Osage PlainsChapter of the Missouri Native Plant Society, Missouri TrappersAssociation, Audubon Missouri, Missouri Prairie Foundation,Quail Forever, Society for Range Management, MissouriDepartment of Natural Resources, Spring City RevitalizationGroup, and the El Dorado Springs 4H Archery and MuzzleLoading teams.Emily Horner, natural history biologist with theMissouri Department of Conservation34

Noppadol paothong/mdcPrairie Protection NetworkOver the last 40 years, the Missouri Prairie Foundation (MPF) hasprotected more than 3,000 acres of prairie and native grasslandsthroughout Missouri, and from time to time, individuals contactMPF trying to locate prairies for sale. But MPF and its members can’tprotect land it doesn’t know about.To effectively locate and protect prairie, MPF is creating a PrairieProtection Network. If you hear of a parcel that contains nativeprairie that is for sale, please contact us; likewise, if you are interestedin purchasing prairie acreage, send your contact information tomissouriprairie@yahoo.com or call 1-888-843-6739. By connecting piecesof prairie for sale with people who want to own, maintain and/or restoreprairie, MPF hopes to help save many more parcels, which, while theymay be small, remain original pieces of Missouri’s prairie legacy worthyof conserving. Keep your eyes open and participate in MPF’s PrairieProtection Network to save our priceless prairie heritage.Earth Share: Working for Missouri PrairieThe Missouri Prairie Foundation(MPF) was one of 13 Missouribasedorganizations that foundedthe Missouri EnvironmentalFund, now known as EarthShare of Missouri. Earth Shareenables more people to supportenvironmental causes in aneasy, highly efficient way. Sinceits beginnings in 1993, EarthShare of Missouri has raised more than a million dollars forenvironmental programs. MPF has received $40,300 since 1995from Earth Share. Additional funds are currently being pledged,and Earth Share’s funding pipeline is in place for the future.Today, Earth Share of Missouri is a federation that representsmore than 72 local, regional, national and internationalorganizations. In addition to MPF, Earth Share’s list includesThe Nature Conservancy, World Wildlife Fund, Missouri ParksAssociation, Missouri Botanical Garden, National AudubonSociety/Audubon Missouri, Ozark Regional Land Trust, andmany other worthy organizations. A complete list of organizationsrepresented by Earth Share is provided at www.earthsharemo.org.Photos by max allgerEarth Share’s principal mission is fundraising via workplacegivingcampaigns on behalf of these organizations, and animportant secondary accomplishment is general awarenessbuildingof important environmental work. The federation enablesemployees to make a single donation that benefits a full spectrumof environmental causes, addressing issues from protecting theMississippi and Amazon rivers to Missouri prairies and Brazilianrainforests. All of the Earth Share-affiliated organizations areworking to improve the health of ecosystems, and thereby arebeneficial to the health and welfare of human beings.Earth Share of Missouri and all of its affiliated organizationsare classified as 501(c)3 organizations, so contributions are taxdeductibleas defined by the IRS. Contributions may be sharedwith all of the Earth Share organizations, or donors may specifythat their gift go to their favorite environmental organization(s).Please visit Earth Share’s Web site for more details, to checkout a calendar of environmental events in Missouri, or to find outmore about setting up a workplace giving campaign at your office.Or, call 314-621-6182.Laura Newman-HoweDeputy Director, Earth Share of Missouri35

Pure PrairieA Nebraska PraiBy David CatlinAnn MowryAnita Gorman HonoredOn May 25, former Missouri Conservation Commissioner and MissouriPrairie Foundation (MPF) member Anita Gorman was honored at theSmithville Lake Prairie Restoration Project by the Clay County ParksDepartment. Mrs. Gorman has been greatly supportive of the efforts of Clay Countyand MPF to begin a prairie and savanna planting on nearly 2,000 acres under lease byClay County Parks from the U.S. Corps of Engineers. Due to the support and technicaladvice of MPF, the National Wild Turkey Federation and the Missouri Department ofConservation, the Smithville site has been awarded a number of grants to aid in therestoration of the heavily visited recreation area.The project began when MPF President Steve Mowry and Clay CountyCommissioner Craig Porter held a fundraising event to draw local attention to thepotential of the site. Once Gorman became involved, the project gained momentum,and a comprehensive management plan was developed for the area. Recently, theMissouri Department of Conservation committed to fund a multi-year restoration planworth more than $100,000. When complete, the trails around the lake will showcaseprairie and savanna communities and promote the conservation work of MPF andthe other partners. Pictured from left are Larry Larson, Clay County Commissioner;Mark Kaullen, Clay County Parks department; Steve Mowry, MPF president; AnitaGorman; Gerald Gorman, Anita’s husband; Craig Porter, MPF member and Clay CountyCommissioner; and Clay County Parks employees.One of the joys of living in the centerof the former range of the tallgrassprairie is that Missourians can visitprairies in virtually every direction. It is, ofcourse, a rare joy—with only a few exceptions,our neighboring states have as little prairieremaining as Missouri does, and not much ofit is open to the public. But visiting prairies inother parts of the tallgrass range can provideinteresting insights into the similarities andsubtle distinctions of native grasslands acrossthe Midwest. And happily, an impressive andaccessible tract has recently been added to thelist of “must visit” sites for prairie aficionados.That tract is Spring Creek Prairie, just 15 milessouthwest of Lincoln, Nebraska.Spring Creek Prairie, like many Missouriprairies, owes its preservation to an accidentof geology: perched on a glacial morainecharacterized by thin and stony soils, it wasa poor place to plant row crops, so thoseCornhuskers left it alone. As a result, it hasspent the better part of the last two centuriesas pastureland. In 1999, its centerpiece—the626-acre O’Brien ranch—was purchased by36

ie Goes Publicthe National Audubon Society. Subsequentacquisitions have enlarged the property to808 acres, of which about 650 acres is nativeprairie. Add in the additional 1,500 acres or soof unplowed prairie remaining in the vicinity(much of it under conservation easement), andthe combined acreage makes up the secondlargestblock of tallgrass left in Nebraska.What’s more, with the opening of the SpringCreek Prairie Audubon Center last September,visitors now have an open-armed invitation toexplore this beautiful landscape.The Nebraska grassland will look familiarto Missourians, and yet there are subtledifferences from our prairies as well. “We’reon the western edge of the tallgrass,” explainsCenter Director Marian Langan, “so wedon’t have rattlesnake master, for instance,but we do have porcupine grass.” Botanistshave identified 355 plant species on the site.Birds found there include bobolinks, uplandsandpipers, Henslow’s sparrows, and greaterprairie-chickens. The occasional bobcat stalksthe property.Habitat management is a part of life atSpring Creek Prairie, too, as it is for Missouriprairies. A few of the players are different—smooth brome replaces tall fescue as themost invasive alien grass, for instance—butmanagement activities at Spring Creek willbe familiar to anyone who has attendeda work day on an MPF prairie. HabitatManager Arnold Mendenhall uses fire, cattlegrazing, and hand work to combat invasivesthat includes cedar, honey locust, Siberianelm, leafy spurge, multiflora rose, and muskthistle—a list he describes as “too much jobsecurity.”There is human history on the Nebraskaprairie, too—stories that are different fromthose of the Missouri landscape. One of thoseis an integral part of the Spring Creek Prairieexperience.“We’re on the National Register ofHistoric Places for the Nebraska City-FortKearny Cutoff to the Oregon Trail,” notesLangan. Spring Creek Prairie lay in the pathof the overland migration to the west duringthe 1860s, and the same lack of plowing thatprotected the prairie ecosystem also preservedthe ruts of the trail. They can still be seen andfollowed today as they descend the banks ofSpring Creek.The opening of the Audubon Centerlast fall has added several dimensions to thevisitor’s experience at Spring Creek Prairie. Itoffers predictable visitor amenities like trails,a parking lot, restrooms and a nature store. Italso demonstrates a rarely-appreciated valueof the prairie: its ability to serve as buildingmaterial. The Center, an energy-efficient greenbuilding, is constructed in part of hay bales cuton the property.And the Center also brings interpretationand education to the site.“Our location next to a populationcenter allows us to provide public access, andone of our goals is to get people out learningabout prairie,” says Langan. The AudubonCenter hosts school classes from Lincoln andsurrounding communities, is a destination forsummer day-camp groups and holds publicprograms, including a Prairie Festival, everySeptember.Spring Creek Prairie is a great placeto experience a piece of plains landscape asgenerations past have experienced it. Already,visitors from 47 states and 23 foreign countrieshave sampled this remaining gem of Nebraskatallgrass. “And we’d love to see a few more ofour neighbors from Missouri!” says Langan.David Catlin is an MPF member living in Springfield.Directions: From Missouri, the easiest way to get to Spring Creek Prairie is to travel north on I-29 just into Iowa, go west on Highway2 through Nebraska City to Lincoln, drop south on US-77 to Highway 33, west on Highway 33 to SW 100th Street, and three miles northto the entrance. The center is open 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. weekdays and 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. weekends. It is closed on major holidays.Contact Information: Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center , 11700 SW 100th St P.O. Box 117, Denton, NE 68339, Phone: 402-797-2301,www.springcreekprairie.orgPhotos Dave Catlin37

Pure PrairiePrairie ProfessionalsPrivate Lands ConservationistSharron GoughNoppadol paothongIf your home was beingdestroyed, you didn’thave much to eat,and your children weren’tsurviving to adulthood, you’dbe grateful for a superhero toreverse your circumstances.This situation describes theplight of Missouri’s prairiechickens,and they’ve had alarger-than-life figure fightingfor them for almost twodecades: Sharron Gough, whofor 16 years as the MissouriDepartment of Conservation’sprairie chicken biologistfocused her energy andpassion for conservation to the prairie-chicken cause.Taking on the job in 1989, Sharron had little more than a$1,500 annual budget for prairie-chicken recovery work. Still,with typical Sharron Gough zest, she marched ahead, producingthe Prairie-Chicken Newsletter and sending it wherever she couldto track down locations of the birds and private landowners whowanted to protect them. Sharron worked with more than 100 privatelandowners across 23 counties in the state’s prairie regions, gettingdown on her hands and knees in prairies to examine prairie-chickenhabitat, securing funding for fescue eradication and tree removal,and helping farmers find ways to provide habitat for the birds andstill make a living. “Making native grassland conservation mesh withfarming operations is still the key,” said Sharron.Sharron was born in Michigan but moved to Clinton, Missouri,at the age of three and grew up on a family farm outside of town. Shewent on to earn a degree in wildlife management from Missouri StateUniversity in Springfield, and knew she wanted to put her educationto good use. In 1983, Sharron began a 2.5-year Peace Corps post inSenegal. “I have spent a lot of time with MDC getting rid of trees,but my charge in Senegal was reforestation,” Sharron recalled witha laugh. She and other volunteers gathered seeds and raised trees forplanting just before the rainy season to help stem desertification in theWest African nation.Sharron participated in the recent “Day on the Prairie” event atWah’Kon-Tah Prairie. From left are Sharron, Stevie Collins, with theSouthern Section of the Society for Range Management, Boomer, andSteve Clubine, prairie wildlife biologist with MDC.Living abroad either did not satisfy, or sparked, Sharron’s tastefor challenge and adventure: upon her return to the States in 1986,she set out on her bicycle and traveled solo from southwesternMissouri to the East Coast, up to Canada and south again on thehome stretch. She covered 3,400 miles in two and a half months, “reacquaintingmyself with my own culture with the added perspectiveof having spent time in a foreign one,” she said.Once back home, Sharron launched her Missouri public servicecareer working for the Natural Resources Conservation Service inNevada, for two years as a soil conservationist, and then for anotheryear with the local Soil and Water Conservation District. Since then,she has been with the Missouri Department of Conservation at the ElDorado Springs office.In addition to her on-the-ground conservation work, Sharronwas the heart and soul of the Lek Trek, the walk across Missouriin 2000 to raise public awareness of prairie-chickens and grasslandconservation. The event spanned three months and took 15 months ofpreparation, as Sharron worked with 17 chambers of commerce and13 schools in towns up and down the state to organize prairie-themedevents. She also designed “Boomer,” the prairie-chicken mascot, andattended most of the events in costume, often in 90°+ weather. Morethan 7,000 people participated in the Lek Trek, which later attractedsubstantial funding for prairie-chicken work in Grasslands CoalitionFocus Areas.Max Alleger38

Sharron’s stamina is well known in conservation circles. Hercolleague Max Alleger, technical advisor with the Missouri PrairieFoundation (MPF) said, “Sharron’s commitment to greater prairiechickenrecovery and prairie and grassland conservation are evident toeveryone she comes into contact with. Sharron has been a member ofMDC’s Prairie-Chicken Recovery Team since its formation in 2005,and her experience, passion and depth of knowledge regarding prairiechickensand grassland management have been invaluable to thatteam and her participation has helped make initial recovery efforts asuccess.”Max added that some of Sharron’s most notableaccomplishments as prairie-chicken biologist include helping tobring together initial Grasslands Coalition partners, planningand conducting the Lek Trek, and working with MPF and otherGrasslands Coalition partners to dialog with the NRCS to make theGrasslands Reserve program (GRP) a much more meaningful prairieconservation program in Missouri. Sharron also served for severalyears as an MPF technical advisor and in 2002, was the program chairfor the North American Prairie Conference in Kirksville.Administrative changes at MDC resulted in a job change forSharron in 2005; since that time the prairie chicken biologist positionhas been absolved and Sharron has been working as a private landsconservationist in St. Clair and Benton Counties.Sharron currently works with 69 different private landmanagement plans. Her current supervisor Edd Brown said “A 40-hour work week is almost foreign to Sharron, as she works tirelessly toserve both fish, forest, and wildlife resources and Missouri citizens.”Despite her heavy work load, Sharron has more time to herselfnow than during her prairie-chicken days, which has allowed herto spend more time on several personal interests. Sharron enjoysfiction writing, and is a published author with children’s storieshaving appeared over the years in Cricket, Spider, Highlights and otherperiodicals. She also regularly practices yoga and enjoys gardeningwith heirloom vegetables and wild flowers. She and her husbandlike to boat on Stockton Lake (“Jack fishes, I read,” says Sharron),and they are converting 50 of their 100 acres at the home in CedarCounty to native prairie plants.Whatever Sharron does, she does it with gusto. Fortunately forMissourians, prairie conservation has loomed large in her life. EddBrown summed up her professional dedication well when he said“Sharron is the consummate and ultimate conservationist, givingheart, soul, and mind to the conservation of our natural heritage.”Coyne Prairie UpdateDear MPF Members and Friends,In mid-July the Missouri Prairie Foundation (MPF) wasawarded a $25,000 matching grant from the William T. KemperFoundation to complete the acquisition of Coyne Prairie. Todate, MPF has raised $48,000 toward the total $96,000 purchaseprice, thanks to donations from members and other donors. TheKemper award is contingent upon MPF’s ability to raise $25,000from other private sources, which means future donations toCoyne Prairie will be matched dollar-for-dollar by the KemperFoundation up to $25,000. By successfully completing thismatching grant challenge, MPF will avoid any additional debtand will be poised to protect the next prairie gem that becomesavailable. As you know, less than 0.5 percent of original Missouritallgrass prairie remains, so every bit is special.MPF extends sincere thanks to the board and staff of the WilliamT. Kemper Foundation, particularly Commerce Bank PresidentDavid Kemper and Kemper Foundation officer Beth Radtke. MPFalso thanks all members who have contributed to the Coynecampaign thus far. MPF intends to approach other foundationsand corporations to finish the Coyne project, but it is the supportof members like you that makes MPF a special organization.Donations of all sizes are appreciated and used wisely. Accordingto our most recent tax return, 95 percent of all funds donated toMPF are used for prairie protection, management and education,which makes MPF one of the most efficient organizationsanywhere. Please consider supporting our Coyne campaign tohelp us match the Kemper challenge grant.Thank you,Frank oberleCarol Davit, editor39

Pure PrairieMember Profile:Lowell PughIt’s safe to say that without Lowell Pugh,there would be no Golden Prairie. One ofthe Missouri Prairie Foundation’s premierquality prairies near Golden City, GoldenPrairie was designated a National NaturalLandmark by the National Park Service in1975, and the Foundation (MPF) purchasedits initial acreage from Lowell and his cousinsin 1970.“In 1967,” Lowell recalled, “the local paperhad a classified ad from [MPF co-founder] DonChristisen, looking for people wanting to sellprairie acreage to the Foundation.” Lowelland his three cousins had inherited 320 acresof prairie from their uncle, who had alwayswanted the land to remain as prairie. “So,”Lowell said, “I replied to the ad, Don camedown and walked the prairie, and we becamelife-long friends.” The entire MPF board visitedthe prairie in 1968, with Lowell joining asa director shortly thereafter. Lowell servedon the board for decades and today is anemeritus board member.“From the time I was a little kid,” Lowellsaid, “my uncle would say ‘One day therewon’t be any prairie left.’” Lowell’s uncle,Enoch A. Phillips, purchased the land inthe 1920s, at a time of rapid conversion ofprairie to cropland in southwestern Missouri.Mr. Phillips would be pleased, no doubt,that his land has been preserved, and thatsurrounding land was purchased by MPFin 2002, bringing the Golden Prairie totalacreage to 630 acres today.Lowell has spent more time on Goldenas a member of MPF than when his familyowned the property. “As a child,” Lowell said,“I didn’t pay any attention to prairie plants, butI do remember my father pointing out prairiechickens.When my uncle used the prairie—atthat time called the Phillips Meadow—forgrazing cattle, we would commonly see upto 150 prairie-chickens.” By 1970, that numberhad dropped to about 45, and today, Lowellsees not more than threeto five prairie-chickens ina flock.Lowell likes to walk8 to 12 miles a week onGolden Prairie, so he keepsclose tabs on the birds. Healso voluntarily maintainsthree mowed trails onthe prairie. Boomer Trailis near an establishedprairie-chicken lek, andAngela’s Trail is namedfor Angela Davis, a St. Louis prairie advocateand television producer who died of cancerin 1992. Her ashes are scattered near thetrail. “The Hawk and Echo Trail may be a bitmisleading,” said Lowell. “They are the namesof two horses I kept on the prairie thirty yearsago.” Not only do the trails help guide hikersthrough the prairie, but the shorter mowedgrass helps prairie-chickens, Lowell explained.“Sharron Gough visited here several yearsago and pointed out that the chicks couldbenefit from a place to dry off out of the tallvegetation after they are born.”Lowell is a life-long resident of GoldenCity, and was born 300 feet from Pugh FuneralHome, of which he has been the director since1955. In addition, Lowell and his wife Bettyalso managed a family hardware business until1988. Lowell and his associate Joanne Howardpublish The Dead Beat, a national bi-monthlymortuary trade magazine. Pugh Funeral Homeoffers embalming and burial services, andLowell also maintains a cremains scatteringgarden at nearby Dudenville Cemetery. Amonument in the garden is engraved witha quote from Eugene M. Poirot, agriculturalecologist from Golden City, from his 1978book Our Margin of Life: “The prairie does notmeasure the success of its creatures in gold orsilver but rather in those values they create inother creatures.” Lowell also offers a cremainsLowell Pugh and his wife Betty have been married for 55 yearsand are lifelong residents of Golden City. In his spare time,Lowell maintains a railroad garden in his yard, with prairieplants coming up through the tracks of the miniature train.scattering service on MPF prairies, availablewith a donation to MPF.Lowell has fond memories madeduring his 40-year involvement with MPF.He values his decades-long friendship withDon Christisen, who passed away in 2005.“We were the first Missourians to talk withKatharine Ordway about prairie conservation,”said Lowell. Ms. Ordway, the famous prairiephilanthropist, was escorted from theSpringfield airport to Barton County prairies in1972 by Lowell and Don. “We didn’t get anymoney from her for the Prairie Foundation,”said Lowell, “but we lit a fire.” Shortly after hervisit, Ms. Ordway provided funds enablingThe Nature Conservancy to begin purchasingprairie tracts in Missouri.Lowell also has some concerns aboutthe future of prairie conservation in Missouri.Additional funding for equipment andseasonal employees would help MPF’sOperations Manager Richard Datema, whocan’t be at all 14 prairies at once, although hecomes close! Lowell also encourages prairieprofessionals, those currently employedand retired, to carefully document theirknowledge and pass it on to the nextgeneration of prairie conservationists. “And,”said Lowell, “I sure would like to see more MPFmembers enjoy our beautiful prairies.”Carol Davit, editorJoanne Howard40

Photos justin johnsonThank you,John and Nancy LewisJohn and Nancy Lewis of Columbiarecently donated 200 shares of AIG Corporation stock to the MissouriPrairie Foundation (MPF) in memory of Mr. Lewis’ mother, Madge Lewis.The approximate value of the stock at the time of sale was $15,000. Mr.Lewis’ mother and father were both avid conservationists, and his fatherwas a former Missouri Department of Conservation employee who onceconducted prairie-chicken counts near MPF’s Golden Prairie. Mr. Lewisused to hunt quail with former MPF presidents John Cline and the lateAndy Runge. The Lewis’ gift will be used to permanently manageMPF’s Runge Prairie, outside Kirksville, which is the site of theOctober 13 board meeting. MPF is extremely grateful for this donationand the people who made it possible.Pat Jones Featured inPeople MagazineIncluded in the July 16, 2007 issueof People magazine is Pat Jones, ofWilliamsburg, Missouri, whom themagazine recognizes as a “Hero amongus,” for her contributions to prairieconservation. Mrs. Jones donated thefunds for the Missouri Prairie Foundation(MPF) to acquire the Prairie ForkConservation Area Expansion, which is200 acres of former crop fields that arebeing planted with prairie grasses andwildflowers. She also donated nearly800 acres to the Missouri Department ofConservation that make up the adjoiningPrairie Fork Conservation Area.The article, on page 90 of themagazine, was written by Kate Klise andincludes a quote from MPF ExecutiveDirector Justin Johnson, commentingon the value of Mrs. Jones’ contributions.The feature is wonderful promotion ofMissouri prairie conservation efforts:People magazine is one of the country’smost ubiquitous publications andreaches 42 million readers each week.“Phil’s Big Day” Raises $1,300 for Prairie-ChickensRecently Phil Wire, a college student at Truman State University, asked friends, associates andmembers of the Audubon Society of Missouri to pledge their support for the Missouri PrairieFoundation’s (MPF’s) Greater Prairie-Chicken recovery efforts. Although he is earning a historyand secondary education double degree, Wire has a passion for birding, and this past May 12,he spotted 104 different species within Adair County. Donors pledged flat amounts or per speciesgifts, and “Phil’s Big Day” raised approximately $1,300. MPF willset these funds aside to protect, restore and enhance prairie-chickenhabitat in and around the Mystic Focus Area outside Kirksville.Volunteer efforts like Phil’s built MPF. If you would like to buildon Phil’s idea and the can-do tradition of MPF, you may donate anyamount through MPF’s Web site at www.moprairie.org. Accordingto MPF’s most recent tax return, 95 percent of all funds go to prairieprotection and education programs. Thank you, Phil!41

Pure PrairieMPF’s Most Appreciative Welcome To New Members And To Former MembersWho Rejoined MPF Between May 16 and August 8, 2007.Jane AbildgaardCraig AldermanConnie AllardAlison AndersonNewell A. and Janine S. BakerSue BeachBear Creek PrairieBill and Gwen BeckerJackie N. BesserElizabeth BetrosK. BeyerLynn BlankinshipChris BlunkIrving and Melody BoimeN. E. and A. J. BornsteinElizabeth A. BowlesSteve Bozoian, D.M.D.David L. BranstetterDon BrasherBenjamin J. andBettie BreedingAnthony BresciaEmily BrownDavid BubMark and Jamie BuehrleNanci BurchellJonathan BusserStan BytnarDavid CallihanRoss CarrabinoSteven ChristiansenPam CloseLillian CollinsH. Groves and Carol CookeR. D. CornishCindy CraigBruce CrawfordMary C. CullenKurt DanielsMrs. Gale DaveyNancy DonahueBobbie DonaldsonJohn E. DowningJudith DudleyMichael J. andSusan J. DugganRodman H. DurfeeHarold EaganJay and Lori EggertDan ErdelDan and Susan EricksonDonald W. ErnstKevin EulingerJack FenimoreYour Membership Helps the Missouri Prairie Foundation• acquire, preserve and restore native prairies• assist private prairie landowners with prairie conservationstrategies• catalyze prairie conservation partnerships between public andprivate entities• encourage state agencies to acquire and preserve prairie acreagefor public enjoyment and plant and animal protection• support prairie research and educationNoppadol paothong/MDCJerry FinkenkellerKay FordDave FowlerLew and Barb FrenchDebra FrerichsRobert GatsonLaverne GerholdPat GibsonMiss Justina HalleyCharles HapkeRay HarmonDonald R. and Ina R. HaysRich and Linda HeffernDr. Pete HeinzelmannR. Chris HerringtonAnne M. HighCaroline R. HirthGreg HoberockJanice HohenstreetPatricia A. Hohn, M.D.Elma HopkinsKathleen HorganLarry J. HoufGeorge and Ann HubelCharles and Sue HumphreyBetty S. HutsonFrank IkerdDavid R. and Eva JankowskiKim JarrellLeslie L. JordonStephen and Kristine JuergensRick KaderlyDoug KappelmannMr. and Mrs. Harold KarabellDavid KeithRon KelleyBonnie KemnerJoel P. and Suzanne C. KidwellDan KirkMark and Kathy KlattChristine KlevonJane KogerRalph F. KrugerBrian KruseLea Ann LangdonRuss LeamingHannah Lee and Herman BeckMr. and Mrs. Walter LeonardGene H and Mary A. LerouxTimothy J. Ley, M.D.Craig LingleGregory and Susan ListerTerry LittrellJay LoganTodd LogsdonFrank LonbergerMr. and Mrs. Steve LumpkinRichardson LynnCody ManringMr. and Mrs.Randall W. MardisMartin and Beth MarlowArchie and Rita MartinRich MathenyGeorge D. McCleary, Jr.Joseph P. McCommisForest McGuireMr. and Mrs. Robert McKinstryTerri W. McLainJoe McReynoldsTerry and Ellen MeierBill MillerGary MillerDavid MoodyTeofilo MorenoJames MorthlandMichael and Janet C.Mulholland42

Help MPF Grow in 2007—For Free!As a current member of the Missouri PrairieFoundation (MPF), you are familiar with the organization’swork to save and promote native prairie. You would probablyagree that others who see the Missouri Prairie Journal and learnabout MPF’s successful conservation work would be compelledto join the cause as well, and this is where you can help.In 2007, any current member may give one free giftmembership simply by filling out and returning the form atright. Additional gift memberships are $20. Help MPF grow in2007 by sharing your love of native prairie with your relatives,friends and neighbors.The Missouri Prairie FoundationP.O. Box 200Columbia, MO 652051-888-843-6739 or 1-573-356-7828www.moprairie.orgYes! I want to become a Missouri Prairie Foundation member.Regular: $25Family or Organization: $35Friend: $50Supporting: $100Contributing: $250Sustaining: $500Patron: $1,000Charles MurphySteve MyattStephen NappierPhil OrfJames OsgoodMargaret OwensDeb PattersonJune PhillipsRachel PiaJames PoulsonJohn QuimbyJohn RayMark and Lois ReidBruce RemingtonChris and Cheryl RenineRobert D. RileyPhyllis W. RobersonRuby F. RobertsSue RobertsJohn S. RossbachDale RothermichJohn RufenachtMichael SaltzgaverJon SchmidDave SchneiderKaren L. SchrieferClaire E. SchumannDr. and Mrs. John F. SchweissQuint ShaferMs. Ilse L. SmithPleasant SmithCecil SnyderRobert S. andShirley R. SnyderBill StansberryKeith StrobelBarry and Linda StuartDenene TaliaferroAshraf TarakaiRene and Betty TempelhoffMike TerhuneFred TornatoreStacy Pugh ToweJames M. and Loic C. UrnesJeff VersluesPaul WagmanGail B. WaltonJack WardEric WheelerRobert D. WhitsittMarvin WickensChristine WilliamsJames D. WilsonElizabeth WintersRudolph WiseMr. and Mrs. John B. WolfordLynne WoltjenBrandon and Brandy WoodenJeff ZimmerschiedCindy ZirwesName:_ ___________________________________________________Address:___________________________________________________City:_________________________ State:______ Zip:_ ____________Phone:____________________________________________________E-mail:____________________________________________________Yes! Please e-mail me announcements about Missouri Prairie Foundationprograms.Please do not share my e-mail or postal address with other organizations.You have my permission to share my addresses with other organizations.Members receive:• the quarterly Missouri Prairie Journal• invitations to guided prairie field trips and annual meetings in variousparts of the state• a share in protecting and preserving Missouri’s prairie heritageYes, please send me information about bequests to the Missouri PrairieFoundation.Yes, I work for __________________________, which is a matchinggift company. Matching gift coordinator and company address:_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________I am a current member.Please send a gift membership to this address:_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Gift memberships may also be requestedvia e-mail at missouriprairie@yahoo.com.43

Missouri Prairie Foundation Officers, Directors and AdvisorsOfficersPresident and Chairof Membership CommitteeSteve Mowry8031 SW 227thTrimble, MO 64492h: 816-357-2301w: 816-452-1800Stevem4444@aol.comImmediate Past President andChair of Prairie Wildlife CommitteeWayne Morton, M.D.4950 NE 501 RoadOsceola, MO 64776h: 417-646-2450w: 417-646-8123wayne2946@yahoo.comVice President and Chairof Fundraising CommitteeGalen Hasler, M.D.3016 South Farm Road 187Springfield, MO 65809h: 417-887-7739c: 417-861-8436hasler@mchsi.comTreasurer and Chairof Budget CommitteePaul Cox6101 Morningside DriveKansas City, MO 64113h: 816-363-4687pauldavidcox@swbell.netSecretary and Chairof Science CommitteeBruce SchuetteCuivre River State Park678 St. Rt. 147Troy, MO 63379h: 636-528-6544w: 636-528-7247basch@centurytel.netDirectorsWilliam A. Davit556 Randy DriveWashington, MO 63090h: 636-390-8025Robert L. Elworth, M.D.Chair of Events Committee7676 North Farm Road 109Willard, MO 65781h: 417-742-2775w: 417-269-8223bobelworth@aol.comDr. Tiffany KnightWashington UniversityDepartment of BiologyOne Brookings Drive, Box 1137St. Louis, MO 63130w: 314-935-8282tknight@biology2.wustl.eduWarren B. Lammert, Jr.8 Overbrook DriveSt. Louis, MO 63124h: 314-961-8768fax: 314-962-7918wlamm01@earthlink.netGeorge D. NicholsChair of Land Acquisition Committee939 SE 40th RoadGolden City, MO 64748h: 417-537-4497w: 417-682-6003gdn@tiadon.comTom Noyes8963 SE 232nd StreetLathrop, MO 64465h: 816-580-3098tandlnoyes@aol.comStanley M. ParrishChair of Land ManagementCommittee204 East 550th RoadWalnut Grove, MO 65770h: 417-788-2308Lee Phillion1826 WatsonSt. Charles, MO 63301636-946-0470leephillion@sbcglobal.netBruce Rogers1604 S. SummerEl Dorado Springs, MO 64774h: 417-876-6044cityeldo@centurytel.netDoris Sherrick10807 E. 205th StreetPeculiar, MO 64078816-779-6708bjdjsher@casstel.netRandall Washburn659 Oak Creek CourtJefferson City, MO 65101h: 573-636-2765wrwashburn@socket.netJon Wingo1001 Pratt PlaceFlorrisant, MO 63031h: 314-839-1527djmaint@aol.comPresidential AppointeeMark Williams4220 S. Hocker, Suite 240Independence, MO 64055h: 816-580-7117w: 816-373-9644Williamsmrk7@yahoo.comEmeritus Board MembersBill Crawford802 EdgewoodColumbia, MO 65203h: 573-449-5876Clair Kucera500 Rockhill RoadColumbia, MO 65201h: 573-449-0100clk3d6@missouri.eduLowell PughP.O. Box 145Golden City, MO 64748h: 417-537-4420w: 417-537-4412dead_beat99@hotmail.comDr. Owen Sexton13154 Greenbough DriveSt. Louis, MO 63146h: 314-434-5297sexton@biology.wustl.eduTechnical AdvisorsMissouri Department of ConservationMax Alleger (Clinton)w: 660-885-8179 ext. 247Max.Alleger@mdc.mo.govSteve Clubine (Windsor)w: 660-885-6981Steve.Clubine@mdc.mo.govLorna H. Domke (Jefferson City)w: 573-751-4115 ext. 3235Lorna.Domke@mdc.mo.govDennis Figg (Jefferson City)w: 573-751-4115 ext. 3309Dennis.Figg@mdc.mo.govRichard H. Thom616 Speer DriveJefferson City, MO 65109h: 573-893-5376Executive DirectorJustin JohnsonChair of Web site Committee1508 Woods CourtColumbia, MO 65203h: 573-442-7512w: 573-356-7828missouriprairie@yahoo.comPrairie Operations ManagerRichard Datema2683 S. Maple Leaf LaneSpringfield, MO 65802h: 417-862-9727c: 417-818-1138datema6@peoplepc.comMembership CoordinatorGary Freeman111A East WalnutColumbia, MO 65203h: 573-449-6423w: 573-449-4805fax: 573-442-0260garymf46@centurytel.netThe Missouri Prairie FoundationP.O. Box 200Columbia, MO 65205www.moprairie.org1-888-843-6739 or 573-356-7828Nonprofit OrgU.S. PostagePAIDColumbia, MOPermit No. 338RETURN SERVICE REQUESTEDPRINTED ONRECYCLED PAPER