Brome-to-Prairie Transition

During the last few weeks of 2008, our flagship acres of the "Brome-to-Prairie" Project were seeded to tall and mixed-grass prairies by Jon Judson of Diversity Farms. Of the 240 acres total, nearly 160 acres of Whiterock Conservancy-managed properties were seeded with a 50+ species mix after being newly enrolled in the SAFE Initiative (State Acres For Wildlife Enhancement). Another 80 acres are left to plant, but snow, ice, sleet, and rain kept us from continuing. The rest of the planting will take place over the next few weeks--we're just waiting for a day or two with low winds.

The acres seeded to prairie were recently enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) under the Gaining Ground for Wildlife, SAFE initiative, which assists landowners in establishing high-quality grassland habitat with cost-share assistance, sign-up incentives, and an increased annual rental rate. The initial SAFE acres dedicated to the state of Iowa were all allocated as of December 2008, but there is the possibility of more acres becoming available in the future. This program has enabled us to plant a diverse array of local ecotype seeds on a large expanse of land, with little cost to us—the essence of subsidization of conservation

The reconstructed prairies planted this winter have the highest diversity and conservatism of any of the planted grasslands on Whiterock-managed property—and we invite you to watch them grow! We’ll be developing maps that show the areas where active savanna and prairie restoration/reconstruction have been taking place this winter, and will be accessible on the website by March.