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New Life From the Ashes of the SandhillsRestoration is a set of steps…an intricate process of trial, discovery and adjustments. Unlike a lot of natural systems, the Centennial Sandhills thrive on disturbance. Healthy Sandhills are really dynamic, with powerful winds sculpting and shifting the big dunes. But, without fire and regular grazing, woody sage and bunchgrasses had taken hold, girding the dunes against the force of the wind and crowding out some of the rare plants that characterize this natural community. Last summer, Conservancy scientists helped the Bureau of Land Management and set fire to about 700 acres of the Centennial Sandhills. Our goal was to restore this rare habitat by clearing out some of the vegetation that had built up after years without fire and bison eating, migrating through and wallowing in the area. It was a risky move, setting a blaze at the peak of the traditional wildfire season, and there was a sobering moment as we looked out over the blackened hills. But, when spring arrived, the casual observer would have had no clue of the post-apocalyptic landscape we’d left before the winter snows. Grasses and wildflowers burst from the scorched ground. Populations of Sandhill cranes, horned But, remember, this the Sandhills. Brilliant green grass is not the measure of health, only proof of resilience. We’re still in the early steps of restoration. We’d brought back fire, but not the bison. As stand-ins for the burly native grazers, we moved in a herd of cows from local ranches to chew up the grass and churn the soil – which raised another issue. Without water on the site, could we keep cattle there long enough to eat sufficient grass to make a difference? And so the process of trial, discovery and now, adjustment, moves along. Photos top to bottom: Sandhills before the burn; directly after burn; one year after burn.
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larks and long-billed curlews surged in the wake of the burn.
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