I am an ecologist and program director for The Nature Conservancy. I’m responsible for the management and restoration of about 5,000 acres of Conservancy-owned land in central and eastern Nebraska – mostly along the central Platte River. In addition, much of my time is devoted to developing, testing, and exporting techniques for prairie management and restoration. To that end, I conduct a lot of research – both formal and informal – on how prairies function and how we as managers can help maintain that function and diversity.
I spend a lot of time photographing prairies and their inhabitants. My photos can be frequently be seen in publications and on websites of The Nature Conservancy. I’m also a frequent contributor of text and photos to NEBRASKAland magazine.
I’m the author of a recent book entitled “The Ecology and Management of Prairies in the Central United States”, published by the University of Iowa Press. http://www.uiowapress.org/books/2010-spring/helzer.htm
I live in Aurora, Nebraska – right on the edge of tallgrass and mixed-grass prairie. My wife and I have three children and live in a old house built in 1918. We can’t imagine living or raising our children anywhere else.
Thanks much for this site, Chris.
Trey Davis, TNC Wyoming
You’re welcome. Glad to see someone west of me reading it! Let me know if there are topics or ideas I should address that would be helpful in your neck of the woods!
Chris, regarding your common milkweed post. I am a restoration biologist in KY with the USFWS. But my wife has bees and I was reading about which plants produce the most pollen-nectar for bees…. one acre of common milkweed through the bees can produces hundreds of pounds of honey. Very good for bees. Just FYI.
Thanks Brent. It’s certainly a species that attracts pollinators of all kinds. Doesn’t surprise me that it makes lots of honey – though hundreds of pounds from a single acre is very impressive!
Chris,
The blog looks great! Very intriguing topics so far and I’m sure more to come. Keep up the good work.
Nate Walker
Northern Prairies Land Trust
Thanks Nate. Glad you like it!
Hi Chris,
I’m doing a post featuring a few blogs, including yours. I’d love to include a thumbnail image of one of your favorite photos linked to this site. Would you be okay with this? You could either send me a jpeg or an image link. I hope to put the post up in the next day or so.
Best regards,
Ted C. MacRae
Of course – you’re welcome to any of them. Let me know if you have one in particular you like.
I’m not sure how to get it to you – is there an email address I can send it to you from as an attachment?
Hi Chris — thanks, I’ll just hotlink one directly from this site since I have your permission. If you ever need to contact me, just go to the “Contact” page on my site.
cheers–ted
Chris,
Wonderful blog, have been reading your posts for the past couple hours and taking in the great photos! I am looking forward to the next post!!
Chris Zeiner
McHenry County Conservation District
Wow – thanks! Look for one early Monday morning on how to adapt prairies for climate change… (And tell your friends to subscribe to the blog!!)
: )
I like the site. Can you answer a question for me about the Basal Bark Treatment of Small Trees? I read on your site that a 3:1 ratio of Crop Oil to Triclopyr is used to kill small trees anytime of year. Should the triclopyr be mixed with water, or used in the ratio, full-strength?
Sure. No water, just straight triclopyr (Remedy, etc.) at 25% of the mix and crop oil at 75%. It’s a lot of undiluted herbicide, but you’ll use very very little on each tree, so it goes a long way.
Does that mean there’s an easier way to kill young locust trees? It sure would save my back not having to prune them to ground level followed with a shot of Tordon. I suppose you mix up the triclopyr and crop oil in a 1 or 2 gallon sprayer? Thanks for the info.
Jim – yes, the basal bark treatment methods works really well for locust trees. You can use a small cheap sprayer or a pvc wand (google “pvc herbicide wand” for a design). You can use the wand to apply the herbicide even more efficiently than with a sprayer.
Chris,
Thanks for a great blog. I share your enthusiasm for prairie and the rich landscape created by grasses and wildflowers. There are many nature-based blogs, but very few dedicated to prairie ecology. I live in the Flint Hills of Kansas and have the privilege of seeing tallgrass prairie every day. I try, in my own non-expert-kind-of-way, to share my passion for this special ecosystem through words and pictures at flinthillstallgrass.org. So I am very glad to find more sites were grasslands are featured. Thanks!
Great site! I live in Central Georgia where there are no prairies, but fragmented tiny grasslands scattered between mixed pine/oak woodlots, pine plantations, and agricultural land. I have an interest in grassland plants as well as the butterflies and moths that inhabit them. I hope to visit a real prairie one of these days. Keep up the good work!
Cliff – stop by sometime! If you’re coming through Nebraska on I-80 you’ll go right by our prairies! Just let me know when you’re coming…
- Chris
Thanks for the reply! Perhaps I will make it to Nebraska one day. Check out the following website (http://www.saveoakywoods.com/). Oaky Woods was a Wildlife Management Area that belonged to a private company, was bought by real estate developers, and now is in the process (at least in part) of being purchased by the State of Georgia in order to protect the unique habitat there. This site contains remnants of a type of prairie known as “black belt” prairie. There are some disjunct prairie plants there that are not very common east of the Mississippi. Anyway, this is as close to a praire as I can get in Central Georgia. Take care!
Nice articles Chris. I relocated to Lincoln, Nebraska in 1997 from Missouri. I call Nebraska home now fully appreciating the ecological importance of the Platte River and our prairies. I’m an avid photographer as well and would love to assist with your research. The Nature Conservancy garners my most avid support and I hope to get more involved with this group when I retire in a few years. Perhaps someday an ecologically diverse lawn will be the status symbol versus the over fertilized and toxic green plots we see today and prize as “well maintained”.
We should talk! I’ll email you and we can see if we can find ways to get you involved!
Chris
Loving the Blog Chris! It’s been a long time since I’ve been back to Nebraska. I’ll have to stop by the next time I’m in Aurora to catch up!
Jon Groelz (I used to work for Chris in Nebraska)
Hilo, HI
Great to hear from you Jon – stop by anytime!
Chris
I’ll be coming through from Montana on my way back to the midwest in early March. This is the final year of my film on the Greater Prairie Chicken for PBS. I’d like to stop to meet you and see if you might fit into some angle of this film….
All my Best,
Tim
As a born and raised Nebraskan, I really enjoy your blog. I’m living outside the state now but am longing to move home when I check your website. How did you get started with Prairie Restoration? Is this something lay people can get involved with? Thanks for all you work.
Hi Cortney – Great to hear you’re reading the blog!
I was lucky enough to learn prairie restoration from Bill Whitney at Prairie Plains Resource Institute. When I started with TNC, I essentially apprenticed with Bill as he did some restoration projects for TNC.
It’s certainly something that’s accessible to anyone. The trickiest part is learning to ID the plant species. You might be interested in this restoration guide that I had a small part in producing. http://prairienebraska.org/Restoration%20Manual.pdf
Thanks again. – Chris
Can you double check the link above and maybe repost?
Thanks,
Jim
Jim – which link?
I’m just completing my English and Great Plains Studies masters degree at UNL, but I’m interested in pursuing a career that has more to do with actual groundwork or activism than with academia. Could you tell me more about the Prairie Plains Resource Institute or other places that give fieldwork training?
I came across The Prairie Ecologist while doing research on Nebraska Native Prairie biodiversity. We have native prairie in Southern York County that is in the path of the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline. It is heartbreaking to know that less than 6% of York County is pastureland and only a small fraction of that is native prairie that will be destroyed if the Department of State permit is approved. I have been trying to document what plants we have here to show TransCanada how priceless we consider our prairie to be. So far they could care less. Do you have any information on the alteration in vegetation productivity and phenology due to increased soil temperatures associated with heat input from pipelines? TransCanada insists that there is no effect on prairie plants. TransCanada also does not think there is any effect on prairie plants whose roots go up to 16 feet deep with the pipeline going in at a depth of 4 feet. Do you know how much biomass is lost underground per acre with the destruction of native prairie? If you could direct me to any research on these and other pipeline related issues, it would be greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Susan Dunavan
Susan -
A very tough situation. Unfortunately, I’m not going to be able to give you much help (other than maybe some moral support).
There is data out there on changes in soil after long-term farming (loss of organic matter is the biggest change) but I’m not aware of any research on changes following a one-time disturbance like excavating for a pipeline installation. And I don’t have any idea what might happen with the increased soil temps… My guess is that the root depths might not be a big deal because even with deep-rooted plants, the majority of their roots are shallow, and while you might have a few species that are unable to survive above the pipeline, the biggest problem will probably be the initial excavation, not the pipeline itself (excluding all the obvious issues that would arise if it leaks).
I think that if the pipeline does end up going through your prairie, my best advice would be to put your resources into influencing the impacts of the soil disturbance. Any concessions you can get that would minimize the size of the footprint (area excavated) would be important, I think. And even more important will be the post-excavation remediation work. My guess is that they’ll offer to re-seed the site with some kind of perennial vegetation. Obviously, it’ll be important to keep them from using something like smooth brome or other invasive/exotic species. But even if you can get them to use native species, they’ll likely go with a low-diversity seeding of cultivar varieties of grass. Since you’re in York County, you might check with Bill Whitney of Prairie Plains Resource Institute in Aurora about the possibility of using their prairie seed for your project. They harvest seed from hundreds of prairie plants annually, and use them for prairie restoration projects around eastern and central Nebraska. If you can convince the TransCanada to use their seed mix, you’ll greatly reduce the risks from the project, I think, and limit the damage at least to some extent. In the worst case, you might have to refuse the seeding by TransCanada and see about having Bill seed yours separately. Maybe other landowners along the line would be interested in the same idea. You can get Bill at 402-694-5535 or ppri@hamilton.net. I don’t suppose they could scalp the sod and save it – and then lay it down again afterwards…
Other than that, I’m afraid I can’t offer much help. It sounds like the decision is up to the state dept now. My thoughts are with you.
If you do have other questions, feel free to contact me, and I’ll do what I can to help.
- Chris
Susan,
FYI, Prairie Plains did some pipeline remediation work in Colfax County near the town of Richland, NE. I could be wrong, but I believe that the landowner was reimbursed in full by TransCanada for that work.
Let me know if you are interested in discussing our restoration work.
Sincerely,
Mike
Chris– As a Minnesotan, I fully appreciate the diversity that exists within prairies. Your photographs are lovelylovely, and make it amply clear that prairies are an ecosystem to learn from and cherish. Thank you. I look forward to stopping back here soon!
Chris, I just returned from Rowe Sanctuary and had the opportunity to visit the Platte River prairie near Wood River. Your restoration sites look great – I’m interested to know how close they have begun to approximate the biotic community on the remnant site there.
Hi Suzanne,
Thanks! March isn’t necessarily the best time to see the prairies – but it’s a great time to see the cranes! Come back in the growing season sometime, and I’ll give you a tour.
Your question is pretty complicated, actually. See my Jan 31 and Feb 4 posts to see what I’m trying to accomplish and how we’re trying to measure. The quick answer is that things look good so far. Plant species are establishing well, insect species that we’ve searched for seem to be moving in, but we’ve only looked at the easy ones (not rare and/or specialist species) so there’s much more to do there. Birds are easy to get. Lots more to measure but early signs are very positive.
Chris
I’m pretty far away from Nebraska (not much prairie restoration going on in Maryland) but I’m very thankful for your blog. It is interesting, informative, and well-written.
Fabulous articles – we’re using them to teach one of our field courses about ecosystems, and will be traveling through the area this summer with students using a lot of your information. Great site! Thanks for taking the time to do this.
Thanks Diana! Glad to be of help. If you’ll be close to central Nebraska, let me know.
Chris
Chris, I enjoyed your presentation for the 2011 TNC training exchange in Gothenburg. I’m a burn contractor with Prescription Pyro and a wildland fire fighter from Broken Bow, NE I’m working on a lot of reserve acres to restore and upgrade the native prairies. We have been using your theory to connect all the little pieces of ground to make a bigger and more diverse habitat. We use a lot of pivot corners and pastures to do this. I’m trying to find more books, learning material on fire ecology and native Nebraska’s tall grass prairies and how to restore them. If you have any suggestions I would appreciate the help. Thanks for your time. Bob H.
Bob – I’m glad you enjoyed the presentation. My prairie management book, of course, could be some use to you. If you’re looking for prairie restoration advice (converting cropland to prairie) you can download a really nice guide from PrairieNebraska.org. There is also a range guide there – a prairie management guide for ranchers. If those don’t give you what you need, feel free to call or email me anytime!
Hey Chris, love your blog. I’m learning so much from reading it. I’m currently photographing a prairie in Wisconsin for a book project that the International Crane Foundation is working on. I would enjoy talking to you about the project.
Tom
Tom – I’d be happy to talk. I’m traveling for the next two weeks, but if you want to call or email the last week of July, maybe we can find a good time.
Here’s a concept that I would like to see, the EXPLOSION of mayflies, at least here in the east. Bellevue, Plattsmouth, Omaha, we have been innundated with mayflies. As a fly fisherman, I would call them a “mahogany dun.” However, I’ve seen a couple that could only be hexagenia females.
We don’t have that much clear, clean running water near us. Some of these bugs have been a couple of miles from running water. Its impressive. If the Missouri was open right now, I would have my fly rod in hand and be chasing down the hatch.
I’ve lived here, on and off, since 1990. Don’t ever recall seeing so many mayflies. Now if we could only dam the Platte at Ashland and make that lake with the tail water fishery….
Oh geez, don’t even JOKE about more dams on the Platte!! We’re just figuring out how to manage the ones we’ve got!
Chris:
This is the link I was hoping you would correct and repost:
http://prairienebraska.org/Restoration%20Manual.pdf
Thanks,
Jim
Ah! Ok – try this: http://prairienebraska.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/restoration-manual.pdf
Hey Chris! Nice work!
I love prairies and the Nature Conservancy! Keep up the good PR!!
Nice article on grassland bird migration!
Thanks Bruce! I just followed up on the work you guys did, so thanks to you for providing some actual DATA on what’s going on out there!
Chris, I discovered your website as I was researching management for my 31 acre prairie in Minnesota. Burning is expensive when you hire it out? Is there comments or ideas, as the first section of our prairie is now about 4 years since seeded and will need a burn soon.
Some of the benifits of our grass and forbs and legumes have been: finding a fawn laying in the grass this spring, lots of dragon flies, butterflies, frogs, toads, and garden spiders, and snakes, and birds gallore. There seems to be something new or differant on every visit to the prairie. Thank you!
Darvin,
Glad you found us! Sounds like you’re seeing great results from your young prairie – great to hear. Yes, burning can be expensive in some cases, if you have to hire someone to do it. Every state (and part of state) is different in terms of what’s available for contractors and what it costs. Sometimes multiple landowners can get together and help each other burn, but that only fits well in some situations. My best advice would be to check with the Minnesota DNR or another local conservation agency to find out what your options are where you’re at. Sorry to not have a simpler answer…
Also, remember that if your 31 acres is isolated from other prairies, you might not want to burn the whole thing at once. Some of the species you mentioned seeing will be vulnerable to fire – even in the early spring – and by leaving a portion unburned, you’ll increase your chances that the populations will have refuges from the flames and unburned habitat, for those species that need it.
Chris,
I thought you and your readers would be interested in this paper on the impact of grassland management on insect communities, especially given your recent post on our dearth of knowledge on taxa beyond birds: http://www.esajournals.org/doi/abs/10.1890/ES11-00226.1.
Enjoy!
Lisa
Thanks Lisa! Someone sent me that paper a couple weeks ago – very interesting. The idea of long legacies from past management and the long-lasting impacts of those management regimes is an important concept, I think. I appreciate you posting the link here.
Chris,
My name’s Christina deVillier. I work for TNC on the Zumwalt Prairie in NE Oregon. I found this blog–and it’s a cool blog!–via your pamphlet called Thistle Defense.
We’re working on restoration on our prairie too, of course, and part of that effort is reseeding some disturbed areas with native forbs. Apparently, the prairie restoration community only wants to do restoration work with innocuous pretty things–I’ve wandered all over the internet looking for any guidelines on the best planting practice for native thistles. We’ve got different varieties over here than you have in Nebraska (specifically Cirsium brevifolium), but do you have any thoughts about when to plant (spring or fall), whether the seeds might like some pre-treatment (stratification), etc? Just a neighborly sharing of information question :)
Either way, good luck with your work. Prairie solidarity. All the best!
Hi Christina,
We’ve had good luck just harvesting and planting native thistle species as we do with any other seeds. We harvest them when they start to fluff out, store them in paper sacks, and then plant them either in the fall (November or later) or early spring (March or April at the latest). So far, so good. I can’t say we’ve seen a difference in establishment based on planting time, and we haven’t played around with any other pre-treatments… They seem to show up pretty easily. Of course, we’re dealing with fairly common species, so they apparently don’t have any trouble in “real life” either. The species we deal mostly with are Cirsium altissimum, C. flodmanii, and C. undulatus.
GLad you found the blog! Visit often…
Chris
Hey Chris!
Nice site. You are a great spokesperson for prairies and ecology with both your images and and words! Tell Norm Hi!