Strategic Prairie Restoration for Conservation Success
There are lots of ways prairie restoration can enhance the conservation of grasslands. Are you trying to enlarge and/or reconnect existing prairie fragments? Do you want to create a site that will draw the public in and turn them into prairie enthusiasts? Is it your aim to build quality habitat for pollinators, grassland birds, or other animals? Whatever your objectives, it’s crucial to think strategically about how best to design and evaluate your project based on what you actually want to achieve. You don’t have to create a prairie that looks like the one across the road or the one that existed 200 years ago. Instead, you should strive to create a prairie that will establish and adapt in the climate-crazy, fragmented world of today. That requires thoughtful planning and a willingness to let go of rigid preconceptions of what a restored prairie should look like.