Agreement Expands Conservation of Tallgrass Prairie

Nature Conservancy acquires 1,321-acre Williams Farm, establishes 8,500 acres of contiguous permanently protected grassland

Moorhead, MN --March 28, 2005--An agreement between The Nature Conservancy and a private land partnership to permanently protect some 1,321 acres of grassland in Clay County links three existing conservation areas, the Bluestem Prairie Scientific and Natural Area, Buffalo River State Park and Margherita-Audubon Preserve, creating a 8,500-acre block of contiguous tallgrass prairie.

“The vast majority of our native grasslands have been lost,” said Ron Nargang, State Director for The Nature Conservancy in Minnesota. “This move ensures future generations will be able to hear the booming of the prairie chicken each spring and experience the native grasslands that once dominated the landscape.”

The property, known as Williams Farm, provides critical habitat for a wide variety of grassland birds, including prairie chickens. The region is a staging area for migrating sandhill cranes and maintains one of the largest concentrations of greater prairie chickens in the state.

Other grassland birds include the upland sandpiper, the marbled godwit, the loggerhead shrike and the Henslow's sparrow. Mammals include the plains pocket mouse and the prairie vole, both species of special concern. These rodents may provide prey for another species of special concern, the western hognose snake. Once restored by Conservancy staff, the property will function as a valuable grassland and wetland complex. In addition, it will enhance habitat for the federally-threatened western prairie fringed orchid.

“Linking more than 8,500 acres in this region is a significant achievement,” said Nargang. “This has been one of our highest priorities. This benefits prairie chickens, native grasslands, and provides opportunities for public recreation.”

The Bluestem Prairie complex is recognized as one of the largest and highest quality northern tallgrass prairies in the United States. With less than 1 percent of tallgrass prairie remaining on Earth, The Nature Conservancy has identified this entire conservation area as a priority. Within this complex, there is a blend of private and public ownership that provides multiple human uses for the property including education, scientific research, access to trails and campsites and prairie restoration and management.

In 1975, the Conservancy acquired more than 1,000 acres of wet and upland prairies and wet meadows south of the Buffalo River that became the centerpiece for the Bluestem Prairie. Since that first purchase, the Conservancy has acquired Margherita Preserve and other parcels, enlarging the Preserve and enhancing the habitat for native species. Currently, Bluestem Prairie is 4,400 acres, and the Margherita Preserve is 479 acres.

Bluestem Prairie stands as the Conservancy’s signature preserve for protecting and managing prairie chickens. At one time, the birds thrived on the extensive prairie that covered much of the Great Plains. Today, thanks to recovery efforts, they have returned to their booming grounds. In recent years, successful management and healthy prairie chicken numbers in northwestern Minnesota has led to a reintroduction program to Illinois and North Dakota that began in the early 1990s. More recently, many of these grassland birds have been reintroduced into their former habitat in the Lac qui Parle area of the Minnesota River Valley.

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The Nature Conservancy is a leading international, nonprofit organization that preserves plants, animals and natural communities representing the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 100 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific.

The Minnesota Chapter has 23,000 members and manages 56 preserves totaling over 70,000 acres. Since the Chapter began in 1958, along with partners it has helped protect more than 300,000 acres in the state, including native prairies, wetlands and woodland communities.