Partnership preserves the prairie
By PAUL G. JANTZEN
Contributing writer
One can appreciate this piece of the Flint Hills and its undulating prairie from a distance, but it always invites a closer look. The Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve near Strong City provides that closer look. Its Southwind Nature Trail has a 1.75-mile path winding "across rolling hills, over a spring-fed stream lined with cottonwoods and hackberry trees, and through a fascinating array of grasses" and wildflowers.
But we wanted to see more of the 10,894 acres of the Prairie, so Elaine and I reserved two places for the bus tour with about a dozen others under the guidance of a National Park Service ranger. Most of the 17-square miles of the Preserve is currently under a 35-year cattle grazing lease. so access to the range is restricted to bus tours. We stop for several closer looks.
It is May 14, and the tallgrasses (big bluestem, Indian grass, and switch grass) are only knee high.
The ranger tells us that the Preserve headquarters area (once Spring Hill Ranch) has an altitude of about 1,300 feet above sea level. Our tour will take us to about 1,500 feet.
The ranger points out a killdeer and an upland sandpiper in flight. Both birds are ground nesters (there are few trees up here). When predators approach their nests, the female birds put on their cripple act to distract predators, leading them away from their nest.
At the first stop, the ranger points out several prairie plants. The prairie turnip has clusters of pale blue flowers and roots which one supplied the Plains Indians with food, either raw or cooked. Green antelopehorn with its creamy green flowers is common in rocky limestone tallgrass prairies.
We see occasional barn swallows in flight. They probably build their mud nests on the faces of rock ledges here where there are few barns. The ranger says that each nest requires a thousand beak loads of mud.
The blue wildindigo, common in limestone and clay soils, is in bloom.
The bus flushes a greater prairie chicken. Once common in the Flinthills, it is becoming scarce. That's one reason for prairie preservation.
We see both violet and yellow wood sorrels, common in rocky soil. Their leaves and flowers close at night and on cloudy days.
We leave the bus for a short visit to a wet, rocky area and see a collared lizard on a limestone rock. It is probably a female, usually less colorful than the male. It was named for the one or two black bands around its neck. It prefers Fahrenheit temperatures from 73 to 93 degrees. Today's temperature is in the lower 60s, so it is basking in the sun on a warm rock. It eats mostly insects.
We see several indigo bushes, usually found in rocky areas in wet ground near streams. Redwings may nest in their branches.
Several old plainsmen plants are nearby with whitish flowers. They are known for their drought resistance.
We flush a western meadowlark, elected state bird of Kansas by school children in 1925l.
There is the skeleton of last year's roundhead lespedeza. It will bloom again in July with whitish flowers.
We see the common yarrow. Rubbing its leaves between your thumb and fingers brings out its strong odor. Yarrow has been used for many common ailments but contains an alkaloidal poison. It does well even on the dry, hot days of summer. Another poisonous plant we see is poison hemlock, introduced from Europe.
Plants present but not yet in bloom are butterfly milkweed, wavy-leaved thistle, and ironweed. The latter two become common in overgrazed areas. Does the grazing here need to be reduced?
Back on April 6, Herb Bartel and I attended a meeting updating the management plan of the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve. Presenters included Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius and Wildlife and Parks Secretary Mike Haden. Currently, the National Park Service owns only 29 acres of the 10,894 acres of the Preserve. It will never own more than 180 acres. The current 29 acres includes the ranch headquarters and the Lower Fox Creek School. Additional land will be donated to the National Park Service for further development of facilities and programs. The remaining 10,865 acres are owned by the Kansas Park Trust (formerly the National Park Trust). The Preserve is managed jointly by the National Park system and the Kansas Park Trust.
When fully developed, the Preserve will provide personal experiences of the tallgrass prairie through direct contact and unobstructed views of the prairie. This will include:
— on site interpretive programs focusing on the natural history of the tallgrass prairie, the Flint Hills ranching legacy, and American Indian history and culture.
— separate grazing areas for cattle and bison.
— limited cross-country hiking and horseback riding.
— limited overnight camping.
Whatever the focus of attention, the rolling hills of this prairie will always provide a background of the vastness and openness of the 400,000 square miles of tallgrass prairie that once covered the North American Continent.
