Land Between Two Rivers; 204; A Prairie Conversation. Part 2

The following program is made possible through a grant from the Kenny Lindstrom foundation incorporated a charitable trust Mason City Iowa. There was a movement a few years ago which postulated that humans already had all the information they needed to make most decisions. The problem was that there was no central repository to collect correlate and redirect this overwhelming flow of facts. That voice has faltered today but the spirit behind that thought has not. Why is it that Americans believe all facts can be known. And where do we get off when you imagine that with these facts humans must somehow got to the same reasonable solution. Two American aphorisms come to mind. There's more than one way to skin a cat. And you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink. It's easy after the fact to be a Monday morning quarterback.

It's much harder when it's fourth and long with less than a minute to go when you're down by more than a touchdown. That's about we're right here and so I was Prairie stand today in 1850 85 percent of Iowa was covered with Prairie today less than one tenth of one percent of the state maintains its prairie cover. Is there nothing that can be done. Is it too late to save this piece of natural heritage. Will we solve the problem if facts are conscientiously collected on this problem. Experts disagree on data but none of them denies that the situation is critical. I would order some 28 million acres if you preserve every acre that's a laugh. The percentages is insignificant compared to what's been put into production. Now I could argue that on a grand scale but the guy we're taking 30 of his 160 acres that are still a large percentage of that particular farm that person object to that in a way there's an

investment. A huge investment over time and not developing that which can only be protected by leaving a prairie post so full of quotes I really you know I really love the way he was saying you know to the blacksmith working at the anvil that piece of metal is something to be developed into a tool but when he stops and rest and in repose he needs some of that natural lands that he was converting. In the team the European settlers began to arrive in gigantic stretches of grass. There was concerns about there seems little value in this land until someone forced to resign the resistance to it. Families seeking a fresh start using this robust soil discovered they could do more than eke out a living. They can provide a comfortable lifestyle for themselves and

future generations. The rush to acquire this fertile prairie land lives on. As a result the Natural Heritage written in the prairie has all but disappeared. Most farmers have no memory of berries because they were gone before the farmers were born in their minds. Iowa has always been a state of vast rolling cultivated fields. Academics concerned about this loss of identified most of the original prairie that still exists in the state. But concern in a dedication is not enough when the continued existence of fairies is in doubt. The question becomes should we have a master plan so that all remaining prairie's will be acquired by the state as a way to preserve this precious piece of natural heritage. Further how should we manage these prairie's so that they continue to thrive in their natural state. Concern individuals such as Dean Russo Iowa State ecologist Darryl

Smith biology department head of UN I call Christiansen professor of biology at Cornell and John Downey a dean at U.N. I continually exchange information in an attempt to answer these questions. Do you come here I feel her ration plan for Iowa. Oh my honey we don't have a very you never how many celebrities childless truly you have the chance to visit her. I think that would be sort of the minimum goal i should want for her for the kids don't you. About the time. We discover a lot of these sites just driving through the countryside will find many small prairie's which would contain the butterflies and possibly butterflies that would be collected at that site for the first time in that county. Go back a year later and find it's gone that the can't even see where you were. Sometimes you'd be my think you're lost in that you had stood there

beside a 20 acre patch of prairie or Martian and there isn't a sign of it next year because of field crops. So it's kind of a race and a little frustrating I guess you might feel endangered like the prairie plants in the 99 counties in Iowa i.e. if you spend a year in each one I think you just touch the surface pretty well. Has it taken out yet years then I'm running out of time. The ferry was gone and I have my 900 essential in the case of the prairie in Iowa I don't think we need the endangered species argument anymore I think we need an endangered ecosystem market because any random prairie that you preserve is preserving a tiny fragment of a vast ecosystem that's gone. Isn't that possible. But out there in some prairie out of Iowa. That there are some living for that has a gene for resistance to certain college kids sure. As sure as that could be

maybe some players out there. Maybe some wonderful hide. Out. There. Has a gene that would be resistant to certain forms of cancer even to deal with this threat Sure we might be able to borrow that G for the living systems could have eventually had to deal with it and use it to the benefit of. Mankind to the detriment of the living things that we call cancer and that's what man needs to middle. Put out there in the prairie. It. Would benefit other creatures of the prairie would benefit. Alternately every living system including the question of what good is it for May and can really be answered was sure we can say. That thing is there was this particular function. But as of now our knowledge is so incomplete. I doubt that we'll know that in the end another thousand years.

There were we have. Many 10000 acres is an outside. Tells us a lot about 28 million. Versus three really just figured out our salvation bases might be small. It's a faded illusion something that overpass that's no longer quite here. Part of that is a prayer of mine. I guess we have the best of intentions of the society. We have a. Question. Plus the Super Bowl. No. This. Is Like how could you destroy a prayer. Could you possibly cloud up for the same to the folks that you were. Concerned about. Prairie's has been an ongoing phenomenon in this state for the past 50

years. Preservation plans have been resented by many noteworthy scholars but not until the late 1960s did a grassroots movement spurred on by a growing national awareness of environmental issues developed bringing prairie's as an issue to the forefront. In the 1980s that educational process continues. Novices soon learn that fairies are not the same as we batches. Something is just grass grassy space. I think if you were to check the definition biologist grassland completion certain species of grasses trees limit should be present. Supporters Grassley states that the French can think of another name to describe their words for metal and that's why they came up with

the very interesting thing they're probably the most common across the state was the one done by big blue sea grass in terms of total acres but the percentages that one remain is so small today because that was the one that made our productive or cultural. Yeah that's the one lended itself so well to corn beef production. So there's very little of that. Often the oddity is that they don't raise in Northeast for the last year for a reason. Western wore the same phrase were a small percentage of the phrase originally but now there's probably a larger percentage of those remains. Then there was the break because they're not a suitable for the culture which is precisely why do you think really I think the highest would be that we prolly less than one tenth of one percent.

When you talk about 85 percent of the stateless Prarie it seems to me that's imperative that we preserve some rabbit so that it is bigger rabbet as we possibly get. I think we get we have to return to the idea that most of the Fraser islands and their island surrounded by the non-native sea you know I think the same way. The islands have been already. Farmers have to know about the areas that they have to go away and not be suspicious if it's a plant which is a you know where you can. Call. It. It's calling for the wheat category the one that has to be eliminated or certainly controlled that the guy on for hours is disturbing to many people. They like to see uniformity you see

uniformity in our lawns our plants and so forth everywhere. It is believed that fires caused by lightning strikes or other natural forces help to reduce Woody invasions. Non-native very plants lacking deeply imbedded root structures were unable to survive these fierce natural forces. Today fire is used as a management technique to encourage native prairie plant domination. Let's return to a more natural form of control has supplanted traditional mowing and hanging operation. Are you in any of the prairie colleges. Was well. We'll let it go and he will

return to its. Normal state. I think there are a couple problems were missed there. We're learning from that now. One is that it probably will never return to its original state because it's now an isolated island with a whole sea of agriculture around it so that there are pressures on it were there before so we need to take a look at some other types of management techniques other than no one has been adopted. These referred to earlier is very odd to manage the native grasses and other species that we've sort of tampered with different types of learning techniques for management and we've adopted because prairie fire was a very natural system. Mostly I see people right now in April before the grasses really start growing for much of the nasty critters.

Actually the historical evidence probably is a prairie fires. We're in the early spring late summer and fall but they made a visit to the store by a lightning strike or something in the dry burning off the tracks of some Grazie grazie. So I think we sort of the day. Fire is one of many to maintain these ferries but we don't know a lot about that. These girls are showing you too many she. Really Goes to show the employer should trust that the general idea that the trade winds yesterday were down to just. Over the years and worries that the Nazi plans are not there. So one of the ways of giving the edge if you will to the nation finances blazing fire and also to recycle some of the nutrients. So it would seem to me an answer to you girl

and it would be to force her on for years. Why. Wasn't your story for your son. Klein has more choice now was a couple thousand years ago. Just. The building plans for trees he says. It's difficult to know what we're shooting for because we don't have any good records of what the prairie was like when the first settlers came by or even the first trappers and traders. So we are looking for a goal which is which is difficult to define. I think for myself I look for diversity that we have as many species as we can get into the area that are compatible as a prairie species at least and occur naturally and then try to Maine try to

manage for that sort of diversity. On. You. I think. We.

Were lucky. I was going out two days and leaving. And I think that's something that we maybe should think about the people who live there might not be quite so. Far in their recollection. So we do have that luxury. But I do think you need to be out there at certain times too because the prayer isn't just a nice beautiful place. As we found out when we run for it. In January it's a day there when the wind comes across in those early early. SELLERS. They probably didn't know the technical death of the nation the wind chill but they could surely give you a pretty good. There. When she. Was with. Her jewelry. With. Her. Much of Iowa's natural heritage lies in its prairie and 1850

100000 acres could comfortably have been set aside in one thousand eight hundred ten thousand acres could easily have been put in public ownership. Today concerned Iowans missed talking much more modest. And then they must wonder. Is there a size below which. Is not. Worth. Preserving. I was. Very. How big of. A self-sustaining over a 200 year period do you think a hundred sixty for Perry will last for a hundred years. Do you think a three acre ferry will last for a hundred years. The answer to that question will have implications on how much what. Our preparation will look like you know by the year 2000. Well we have a lot of low priced spread around. Well we take the plunge and try to pick the biggest area in the state and try out all the stops so to speak by any remnant of prairie that you preserve is preserving a tiny fragment of a vast ecosystem that's gone.

Bits and pieces back but you know then Dean's argument then the question is is is it worth it in the long run. Are they going to be around. Are they going to just disintegrate in you know end and the diversity goes down every decade and pretty soon it's blue stem gold golden rod patch and is that valuable that even a new stem goldenrod patches from superior to nothing that's there. What if we let seven more generations go without educating them on the importance of the earth. We may get to a point where a prairie or any other While area frightens or intimidates. So I would argue that with of twenty eight million acres if you preserve every acre that's left the percentages is insignificant compared to what's been put in the production. Now I could argue that on a grand scale but the guy we're taking 30 of his hundred sixty acres that's still a large percentage of that particular farm that persons object to that.

Well if we don't if we don't establish a plan you know we're going to be we're going to be saddled with somebody else's priorities. That's right. Maybe that's not bad but I would like to have those who are very interested in Prairie protection have some say about what not only what is protected but the philosophy behind. Do we want a large chunk. Do we want the series a small child. Well there's been plans of the I would have you sign any that he hadn't a hair into Hades suggested prayers and they tried to put together a rationale for why different samples should be preserved. So yeah I think there'd been plans but they seem to be cropping up and they may have been one of the follow through. You made a statement in one of your talks about preservation. We just followed through with the one the AIDS Committee put out in 1944 through 46.

We have one whale of this ferry system in the state because I don't remember the exact number. Maybe you know you need about a hundred thirty you know language search as the final five. Recently as 1978 we purchased one as a result of her plan. We purchased five of the ferries those 130 plus or minus that you don't get any of those under 30 plus or minus how many are totally obliterated. Now. For the 24. Certainly more than the 5. Yeah yeah. As a slant change yes it's changed a lot hasn't it. Well now it's my turn to make decisions about the slam. And you can see the decisions I make. You can see the decisions of my neighbors have made. But pretty soon it's going to be your turn to decide what happens to this land. And for you to make an

intelligent decision as to whether you're making it better or not. It helps just a little to know what it was like before dozens are we improving. Or are we taking away from what it was. That's a heavy question. That's serious stuff. But that's a question you're going to have to deal with and it's a question I'm dealing with now. Do they so easy to listen to me. That is TV. Fifty years ago rulers of this township in Kisumu County or some county will be forever. So this is a prairie with the law. In the world today. The. Best people in the years turning 60 this is the little people and the Sex and the wonderful chance. This is. A lot of grief. Still.

So it's all relative. Yeah and that's what. Motivates me. I'm concerned that we're going to miss preserving something that's going to be gone and once it's gone you can't recover. That's it sounds sort of repetitious to say and maybe overstating it but. People don't really recognize a vanishing heritage until it's gone. And they look back and say gee why why didn't we hear is something which just slipped away from us without even realizing that's something that was so huge that it could could never be used and used up almost completely. I think the way to interest people this is to get them to know to be on them. It's a place that I come to and I just sort of forget my worries. I often come

home late after I've been to bed because I really has a sense of time. I just it's just a place to wander around and enjoy. I think part of what's left of I would say is is in a sense a state of mind and you can create sort of that state of mind your selfs prairie's in Iowa are largely a state of mind. Postage Stamp are remnants of the original and miniscule reconstructed plots can only offer up their wondrous natural heritage. If we are willing to immerse ourselves in detail the gigantic expanses of I was a native prairie no longer remain. These details acquired by stimulating the imagination are more than just facts to those who know them. In order for uninformed Iowans to get the message

about prairie's the facts must penetrate far beyond pure information. The spirit of violence must be delicately injected with that fragile commodity called reverie. This program was made possible through a grant from the Kenny Lindstrom foundation incorporated a charitable trust Mason City Iowa.