Prairie Smoke News and Events
Prairie Smoke Winter Get Together, January 29th, 4:00 p.m.
The Prairie Smoke Chapter of The Prairie Enthusiasts will have its annual Winter Get-Together at the Chatfield Library (314 South Main Street, Chatfield) on Sunday, January 29th at 4 p.m.
Special Program: Rochester's Urban Prairie Program
Jacob Ryg , Rochester's City Forester, will speak about Rochester's Urban Prairie program, its history, management plan, etc. and show maps with the locations of these little gems.
Our winter get-together is free and open to the public (no need for RSVP)- everybody is welcome to join us for the Forester's presentation and join us for a light dinner. Please bring a friend or a neighbor with you.
From Rochester- take Hwy 52 South for about 20 miles. Email litt0129@umn.edu for further information.
There are several open positions on our board. These include treasurer, secretary, and three board members. All positions are two year appointments. If you are interested in any of these positions, please contact Dave Edwards at noodlerun@charter.net.
The Prairie Enthusiasts Annual Conference, Saturday, February 25, 2012, UW-Stout, Menomonie, WI
The St Croix and chippewa Savannas chapters have joined forces to host the annual conference on February 26 in Menomonie, WI. Please mark your calendars now. The conference is open to the public. Anyone interested in conservation should attend. The conference will feature a variety of experts and professionals presenting topics within three individual tracks. The tracks will run concurrently throughout the day:
- Prairie Restoration 101 offers an introductory look at the basics of conducting a successful prairie or savanna restoration project.
- Technical and Research topics offers presentations on technical amtters and research findings related to ecology and restoration.
- Wildlife of Prairies and Savannas offers a focus on animals that depend upon fire-adapted ecosystems.
The keynote speaker will be Stephen Packard, author of "The Tallgrass Restoration Handbook." Stephen is the Director of the National Audubon Society in the Chicago region. He was a major force in creating the Nachusa Grasslands, 3000 acres of prairie remnants, restorations, and reconstructions. His work on restoring oak svannas led to a rediscovery of an ecosystem.
The conference will also feature a silent auction/raffle fundraiser in which participants may bid on donated items including seed mixes, crafts, tools, books, and art.
TPE is pleased to announce the banquet speaker, Dr. Doug Tallamy. Dr. Tallamy is professor and chair of the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology and the director of the Center for Managed Ecosystems at the University of Delaware in Newark, Delaware, where he has authored 73 research articles and has taught Insect Taxonomy, Behavioral Ecology, and other courses for 30 years. Chief among his research goals is to better understand the many ways insects interact with plants and how such interactions determine the diversity of animal communities. His book "Bringing Nature Home: How Native Plants Sustain Wildlife in our Gardens" was published by Timber Press in 2007 and was awarded the 2008 Silver Medal by the Garden Writer's Association.
We hope that conservationists and nature lovers throughout the region will join us for an exciting and fruitful conference.
Top 10 Tallgrass Prairie Facts:
Jeff Nielsen of BWSR sends in the following facts on tallgrass prairie, compiled by Minnesota DNR:
1. Native tallgrass is the MOST ENDANGERED ecosystem in North America and the foundation of PERENNIAL POLYCULTURE. – Kansas University
2. Native prairie root systems are the BEST natural soil anchors on earth.
3. In one acre of established prairie there is 24,000 pounds of roots. – Iowa State University
4. One acre of established prairie can ABSORB 9 inches of rainfall per hour before runoff occurs. – University of Northern Iowa
5. One acre of established prairie will INTERCEPT as much as 53 tons of water during a one inch per hour rain event. – University of Nebraska, Lincoln
6. Prairie foliage represents a surface area of 5 to 20 times larger than the soil area beneath it. – University of Nebraska, Lincoln
7. Prairie planted in roadside ditches makes highways safer by INCREASING the holding capacity for snow in the ditch provided the shoulder is mowed. – MDOT.
8. Natural competition of prairie plants REDUCES the occurrence of weeds in an area. – Iowa State University
9. Greater prairie diversity, creates biotic barriers to PREVENT weed invasion. – University of Minnesota
10. One acre of reconstructed prairie can produce more bioenergy than land used to grow corn for ethanol. – University of Minnesota