Tallgrass prairie is an early successional stage on the eastern Great Plains. To persist, it requires periodic disturbance, or it will succeed to forest. Before euro-american settlement, it was maintained by lighting- and human-set fire, on a 2-5 year return interval; and by grazing, chiefly by bison. Simulating those agents is problematic: fire scares the neighbors, and grazing is unprofitable if managed sustainably. Mowing isn’t a very good substitute, because nutrient cycling is inefficient and thatch builds up, and because many of the characteristic plants require fire and/or grazing to reproduce.

Beyond the disturbance factor, some key components of the original biota, like predators and pollinators, are missing, while the weeds – introduced invasives like those in photos 3, 5 9, 18 and 20 – are here to stay. Most weed species thrive with frequent disturbance. Some have seeds that can remain viable for decades, and have built up practically inexhaustible soil seed banks. Without careful preparation and management, weeds can quickly dominate a restored prairie.

Having said all that, I’d love to see more projects like Coon Rapids Dam. A restored prairied may not be an exact replica of what was there 300 years ago, but it can be a reasonable facsimile. It just takes a perpetual commitment of money and labor. Public support is the biggest challenge for prairie restorationists, because without donated funds and volunteer labor, few projects will succeed in the long run.

Leopold said, “One of the penalties of an ecological education is that one lives alone in a world of wounds. Much of the damage inflicted on land is quite invisible to laymen.” Prairie restoration can help open eyes. It’s a good sign that prairie restoration has captured the public’s imagination in parts of the tallgrass region. I hope it spreads.