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Grasslands Get a Grade

Restored prairie near the Platte River.
A cow grazes a burned patch of restored prairie by the Derr House
© Chris Helzer/TNC
 

Restoration practitioners and researchers from around the country will converge in Aurora, Nebraska, in August for the 2009 Grassland Restoration Workshop.  Hosted by the Conservancy and Prairie Plains Resource Institute, this gathering will focus on what's working and what's not in grassland restoration.

Since 2003, the Grassland Restoration Network has hosted annual workshops to share information and experiences related to large-scale high diversity grassland restoration. 

Aurora is home to three conservation organizations that are active in prairie restoration (The Nature Conservancy, Prairie Plains Resource Institute, and Nebraska Game and Parks Commission).  This year's workshop features a particular emphasis on the evaluation of past restoration practices.  "Measuring the impact of our restoration work is important not only as a way to gauge our conservation progress, but also as a way to justify funding and support for future projects," said Chris Helzer, Eastern Nebraska Program Director.  "We will look at a range of evaluation samples and have field demonstrations of techniques during our tours."

Helzer has seen a big change in the approach to prairie restoration.  What was once largely the realm of academics trying to prove that it was (or wasn't) possible to re-create prairies from scratch - or nature centers and museums trying to show people a glimpse of a historic landscape - has now become a legitimate conservation tool.

Those who have worked on restoration projects are eager to describe their experiences and think about the questions they share with others.  How does fire and grazing management impact plant diversity over time? What tools can be used to measure prairie health? Do we need to reintroduce insects or other animals unable to colonize restorations on their own? 

The answers matter to Helzer.  "Prairie restoration is really the only option we have for the conservation of highly-fragmented prairies in the Midwest.  In places where it's feasible and valuable to do so, we can re-connect some of the remaining prairie fragments and allow them to function as a large prairie once again," he said.