Midwest Region Refuge System

Phone: 608-221-1206 Ext. 14Address:
4511 Helgesen Drive
Madison, WI 53718-6747

Grassland Restoration
On Private Lands in Wisconsin

Although much of Wisconsin was once covered with great forests, in the southern half of the state there were large areas of fertile prairies – level, treeless lands that were carpeted with prairie grasses. Some of the first "prairie people" in southern Wisconsin were the Mascouton Indians, a name derived from Maskoutenec, meaning a prairie. Henry Merrill, an early settler wrote "we struck the prairie which to me was a beautiful sight. Here we could see a grass plot for four or five miles, and not a tree or bush on it." – The Prairie and Its People, 1956. Much has changed since European settlement. Almost all of our prairies have been converted for agricultural, silvicultural, or development purposes. What remains today are isolated remnants, usually occurring on steep slopes or on soils too inhospitable for anything else.

Prairies are incredibly dynamic ecosystems that are important to all of us in Wisconsin. Did you know that prairies:

Regal Fritillary

Stabilize soil temperatures (up to 30^olower at the soil surface than a corn field) which saves water loss from the soil during droughts and protects soil microorganisms.

Have species with taproots deeper than most trees. False boneset, a common prairie forb, roots reach down 17 feet into the soil.

Are home to rare and declining grassland bird species including bobolinks, eastern meadowlarks, Henslow's sparrows, and upland sandpipers. Wisconsin prairies are also microcosms for rare invertebrates including the Karner blue butterfly, red-tailed prairie leafhopper, phlox moth, and regal fritillary.

"If recognition, protection, management, and restoration are actively pursued and fostered at levels greater than they have been in the past, most of the biotic diversity of our original grassland ecosystems can be retained within the state over time. But time is running out fast. With each passing year, options for retention or recovery are lost at an accelerating rate, and the costs and efforts needed to retain grassland biodiversity increase."

prairie chicken photo Most of Wisconsin’s remaining prairies and oak savannas occur on private lands. Likewise, turkeys, bobwhite quail, pheasants, and other ground-nesting grassland birds that depend on Wisconsin’s grassland habitat utilize private lands during their breeding, nesting, and brood-rearing seasons. Improving and managing your land for grassland habitat will make a difference in the recovery of this rare and declining ecosystem.

Grassland and oak savanna restoration management consists of clearing invasive trees and shrubs that shade-out herbaceous plants, mowing invasive or exotic plants to eliminate their spread, prescribed burning to reduce woody encroachment, grazing management to minimize impacts to the plants, and planting old fields or inter-seeding disturbed areas. The Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program accomplishes these management practices by hiring local contractors to carry-out management activities on your land, by coordinating equipment and materials used for restoration practices, and by assisting landowners with monitoring the success of a project.

Prescribed fire reduces competition from non-native species and reduces woody vegetation.

Wisconsin map showing Finley's pre-vegetation distribution

How do I get Started?

A FWS private lands biologist will have a one-on-one meeting with you to discuss your goals for your land and see if the project lends itself to the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program criteria and objectives. We can help you with native-prairie species identification, discuss wildlife improvements and benefits, and increase your stewardship knowledge of your land.

What happens Next?

If your land is eligible, a wildlife management agreement will be developed to enroll you in the Partners program. This ten-year agreement allows the private lands biologist to continue providing technical assistance and spells-out financial support that will be offered for wildlife improvements on your property.

A project, or wildlife management plan may be included. This plan will explain the who, what, where, when, and how management alternatives may be implemented on your lands. Alternatives such as prescribed burning, grazing, haying, native-seed collection, weed control, planting, and brush control may be addressed in the management plan.

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Last updated: April 8, 2009

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