Prairie restoration on the southern plains: Lessons learned from a multiphase project in nine parks

Pannebaker, Fran; Folts-Zettner, Tomye; Mathis, Allyson; Bennetts, Robert

Between 2008 and 2015, nine national park sites in the southern Great Plains conducted restoration projects to restore degraded sites in shortgrass and mixed-grass prairie ecosystems. This multipark project sought to restore the biological function of park grasslands and restore cultural landscapes, both vital to the fundamental resources and values of these parks. Participating parks included Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site and Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site in Colorado, Pecos National Historical Park in New Mexico, Lake Meredith National Recreation Area, Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park, and San Antonio Missions National Historical Park in Texas, Chickasaw National Recreation Area and Washita Battlefield National Historic Site in Oklahoma and Fort Larned National Historic Site in Kansas. Major goals of the project included not only restored prairie sites in park areas, but also opportunities for parks to gain experience in and to build capacity for conducting such restoration projects in the future. The parks worked collaboratively with one another, with the Southern Plains Inventory and Monitoring Network (SOPN), other National Park Service programs, and outside experts including specialists from the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. Parks also shared equipment, expertise and lessons learned with one another during the project. This interpark sharing was especially beneficial to the participating parks given the small size of their resource management staffs. The parks followed restoration guidelines developed and endorsed by the Society for Ecological Restoration, adapting them specifically to the unique conditions found in the shortgrass and mixed-grass prairie and for use in NPS sites. Loss of native grasslands in the southern Plains has occurred through conversion of land to agricultural uses, overgrazing, loss of natural disturbances such as fire and invasions of exotic species, threatening the very nature of the prairie landscape. Less is known about the restoration techniques that are most effective in short and mixed-grass systems relative to those in tallgrass prairie ecosystems. But it is generally thought to be more difficult to restore these systems because of factors such as frequent periods of drought and persistent winds that impact the shortgrass steppe and mixed-grass prairie. The restoration process used by the parks included developing a conceptual plan to guide restoration efforts, assessing current condition at the site to be restored, and identifying reference conditions in order to evaluate the effectiveness of restoration treatments. Based on the information compiled in the initial phase of the restoration, treatments were accordingly planned and scheduled with the understanding that adaptive management would be an integral part of the process. Restoration treatments included site preparation to repair physical degradation of the site due to soil compaction, furrowing or other alterations, to control exotic and invasive species and to hold the soil as appropriate with cover crops. An integral part of the restoration projects was the acquisition of native plant materials by native seed collection, propagation and/or purchasing. Seeding was the most commonly used revegetation technique in the restoration sites as it was cost-effective and could be used in large areas. Transplanting seedlings grown from seed in a greenhouse and salvaged or wild plants was applicable at some sites. Transplantings can be especially useful for species that do not generate well from seed or because of another factor such as blowing soil that inhibits seed germination. Maintenance and management treatments following revegetation efforts were conducted to continue to provide conditions for native plants to thrive and to control exotic species. Common maintenance and management techniques used in prairie restoration sites included mowing, mastication, prescribed fire and grazing.

Prairie restoration on the southern plains: Lessons learned from a multiphase project in nine parks

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