From the Rocky Mountains in the west across the Mississippi River in the east and far north into Canada and south into Texas, the American prairie once stretched for hundreds of miles. In this region with too little rain for forests to grow, dozens of species of grasses and wildflowers flourished, providing a home for wildlife from prairie dogs to bison, butterflies to rattlesnakes, golden eagles to barn swallows. Native Americans such as the Blackfeet hunted buffalo and harvested wild fruits and herbs, traveling from camp to camp on foot, with dogs pulling sleds called travois bearing their goods.
Europeans Arrive and Tame the Great Plains
From the 1500s to the 1900s, Europeans settled North America, turning the wild prairie into cattle ranches, farms, and cities. The American bison, also called buffalo, and many other native species almost became extinct. The Homestead Act of 1862 allowed people to claim 160 acres, build a house, and live on and farm it for five years. Then it was his or hers, all for a $10 filing fee. Immigrants, poor people, and adventurers flocked to the prairies. Between 1860 and 1900, four hundred million acres of prairie were plowed, and the wild prairie almost disappeared.
How Weather Creates the Prairie
Weather systems in western North America usually move from west to east, and most of the moisture comes out as rain or snow when it hits the Rocky Mountains, so the air that passes over the mountains carries little water. In the harsh western plains region extending from Alberta into Texas and New Mexico, sparse rainfall means only short grasses can thrive. As the air travels eastward, warm moist air from the south joins the flow from the west, allowing more rainfall. Prairie in the east, where rain can be abundant, grew grasses up to twelve feet tall. The midsection of the prairie running from Saskatchewan south into central Texas, is a transition zone of mixed-grass prairie.
Prairie Dogs, Buffalo, and More
Despite the sometimes harsh climate, the shortgrass prairie is rich in species of plants and animals. Burrows of the black-tailed prairie dog are home to many other animals such as prairie rattlesnakes, burrowing owls, and the highly endangered black-footed ferret. Wildflowers like arrowleaf balsam root, Indian paintbrush, and wild blue flax decorate the grasslands with bright spots of color. Elk, buffalo, and pronghorn forage for grasses and herbs.
The American Prairie Preserve
The American Prairie Foundation's mission is to preserve America's grasslands for future generations by acquiring large private tracts and linking them to the existing two million acres of fragmented public land in this area, such as the Charles M. Russell Wildlife Refuge. When these fragmented public and private lands are connected, the result will be a continuous land area devoted to wildlife and open to public enjoyment, the largest of any kind in the continental United States.
The American Prairie Foundation already owns or leases tens of thousands of acres of deeded and private land. It has also returned leases on more than 45,000 acres of federal land previously used for livestock grazing back to the Charles M. Russell Wildlife Refuge. These lands are now managed for wildlife by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
For now, the best way to explore this abundant landscape is by visiting the Charles M. Russell Wildlife Refuge or other sites in the area described on the Prairie Foundation website, which also describes the project in detail and provides photos of the land and its wildlife.
Dorothy Patent - Dorothy H Patent has been writing nonfiction books for children for many years, as well as coauthoring adult nonfiction and writing for a ...
Join the Conversation