Grassland Notebook

Randy Arndt lives and breathes prairie restoration. He was recently hired as the Grand River Grasslands site manager and is based at Dunn Ranch, the 4,000-acre anchor site within the 70,000 acre grassland landscape on the Missouri-Iowa border.

Arndt works with private ranchers, the Missouri Department of Conservation, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and other partners to accomplish the Conservancy’s ambitious goals of restoring this functional tallgrass prairie.

With more than 28 years as a certified wildlife biologist and owner and operator of Arndt Family Farm, wholesale producers of Missouri native grass and forb seed, Arndt has a handle on how to accomplish his goals. He has hit the ground running in the Grand River Grasslands.

Randy, are the prairie chickens increasing in the Grand River Grasslands?
This summer, we found six different broods in one field and because of that and other anecdotal information, we anticipate the numbers going up. The discovery of the broods is an indication, not part of a formal survey. We hope to coordinate a more formal count next year during the mating season on the leks.

Everyone loves large, fuzzy mammals. When will bison be reintroduced?
We have pushed back the reintroduction date to ensure that our prairie restoration will sustain a bison population. We need to get this right from a science perspective. The bison fencing is almost complete and we are planning the construction of the corral, so we are continuing to move forward on all aspects of the project. However, realistically we can’t rush the seasons and we need a few more years of work to make sure our prairies are healthy, vibrant and bison ready.

What type of restoration work are you doing this week?
Right now we are concentrating our efforts on 200-400 acres within the bison unit. This week, we are harvesting seed using a special 20-foot stripper head from the Fish and Wildlife Service and an adapted combine for this process. Our goal is 7,000 pounds of bulk seed, much of it coming from Pawnee Prairie. With little wind and dry conditions, we will harvest about 150 diverse species in this prairie remnant area. In November, we’ll burn about 300 acres to increase seed production for next year so that we can grow restoration areas exponentially. This December, we’ll be ready to plant the seed we are harvesting now.

Over the past year, the farm house was demolished. What other structural changes have happened at Dunn Ranch? 
As you may know, the old farm house was a patchwork of repairs and could not be converted to fit our needs for meeting space, lodging by fire crews and researchers and public outreach. We are assessing our needs for a facility, looking at “green” structures and just beginning our planning and budgeting. Currently, we are working out of the office space that was added to the farm house years ago. We also have made improvements to our onsite grain bin by adding a fan to help the seed drying process. This will triple the amount of seed we are able to harvest.

What about new species discovered in the Grand River Grasslands?
We recently found 40 stems of Eared False Foxglove on the Perkins tract, which is listed as a Missouri Department of Conservation’s species of conservation concern. Further exploration in the vicinity led to the discovery of well over 500 stems in a two-acre area. We also discovered about 75 stems on Pawnee Prairie and about 50 stems on the Parson’s Lease. While collecting seed at Pawnee Prairie, we found Purple Giant Hyssop, an unusual mint that is listed as a MDC species of conservation concern. This is a new record for Harrison County, and is one of two existing populations in Missouri.