Fall 2007: Volume 28, Number 4 - Missouri Prairie Foundation

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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 waterMissouri Prairie Foundation prairie properties range in size from 37 acres to more than 1,000.Members are welcome to visit these prairies, which they help support, at any time. For information about and directions to MPF prairies,visit www.moprairie.org or call 573-356-7828.Map credit: MoRAP, Missouri Resource Assessment Partnership32
Richard’s Prairie Management AdviceLate Fall and Winter ChoresThe following prairie management advice from previous issues of the Journal is reprintedhere to help those of you preparing to improve your grasslands during the colder months ofthe year. The dormant season is a good time to remove woody growth and plant seed.Cutting TreesThe most important thing to remember when cutting trees is that you must treat the cutstumps with some sort of herbicide. Untreated stumps tend to multiply, and it is well worthyour time to treat all the stumps as you go. At the end of a long day, you’ll never find them all.I use undiluted Tordon RTU, which is Picloram and 2,4-D, or a Crossbow and diesel mix (5%Crossbow and 95% diesel). Crossbow is triclopyr plus 2,4-D.If using Tordon RTU, which stands for Ready to Use, apply the herbicide directly to thecambium layer of the cut stump. The cambium is the ring just inside the bark. I use a wipingaction to treat stumps this way, with the Tordon RTU in an applicator bottle with a permeabletop. If using the Crossbow and diesel mix, spray the top of the stump and down the sides tothe ground. Small trees and brush of 2” diameter or less can be killed without cutting via aprocess called basal bark treatment. Spray the stem all the way around, about 24” high. Asalways, follow all herbicide label instructions for safety and protection of your resources. Forinstance, neither Tordon RTU nor the Crossbow mix should be used around water, as 2,4-Dhas been shown to greatly harm desirable aquatic species.Winter Seeding of Native Grasses and ForbsIf you have sprayed and burned your tall fescue or other unwanted exotic species to prepareyour seed bed by the winter, I recommend broadcast planting your native prairie grasses andforb seed in December or the first week of January. A common mistake in native plantings isseeding your expensive prairie species too deep, so let Mother Nature do most of the work.You can use a harrow to rough up the surface and a culti-packer after the seed has beenbroadcast to insure seed to soil contact. The freezing and thawing action over the wintershould work the seed to the proper depth.Resources Available OnlineAdditional advice regarding winter seeding of native prairie species is available at severalWeb sites. Here are a few to start with:Carol Davithttp://www.hamiltonseed.com/Hamilton_Started.htmlhttp://www.mowildflowers.net/growinginfo/seeding.htmlhttp://www.pureairseed.com/wst_page7.htmlTo find a wide variety of native seed sources, visit www.grownative.org and exploretheir Buyer’s Guide section. If you do not have access to the Internet, contact MPF at1-888-843-6739 for advice.Operations Manager Richard Datemahas been managing MPF prairies since being hiredas the first full-time employee of MPF in1998.He and his wife Mia live in Springfield with 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 .33
Page 1 and 2: 2007Volume 28Number 4Missouri Prair
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Page 7 and 8: David Tilmanto absorb the waste. Th
Page 9 and 10: atmosphere when the tallgrass prair
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Page 13 and 14: Photos Justin JohnsonWhen the Show
Page 15 and 16: gement Benefits QuailAs a wildlife
Page 17 and 18: Cone-of-VulnerabilityRobert N. Chap
Page 19: community management and have some
Page 22 and 23: Prairie State Park offersexpansive
Page 24 and 25: Prairie State Parkis located in Bar
Page 26 and 27: Prairie-Chicken RecoveryAccomplishm
Page 28 and 29: Photos Emily HOrnerMissouri Departm
Page 30 and 31: Fall MPF Board Meeting andDevelopme
Page 34 and 35: Calendar of Prairie-Related Events2
Page 36 and 37: Pure PrairieCoyne Acquisition Compl
Page 38 and 39: Pure PrairiePrairie ProfessionalsPr
Page 40 and 41: Pure PrairieEmployer Matching Gift
Page 42 and 43: Pure PrairieMPF’s Most Appreciati
Page 44: Missouri Prairie Foundation Officer

Fall 2007: Volume 28, Number 4 - Missouri Prairie Foundation

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