In June I wrote a post entitled “June Observations, 2022”. I periodically revisit old blog posts to continue to root out grammar mistakes and punctuation problems I have missed, and in re-reading that post found that I had promised a year-end summary. Much of this has been referred to in blog posts earlier this year, but this perhaps provides a more complete context. Or, I just like repeating what I have already said. Either way works for me. Fair enough, here goes.

Here is the centerpoint of the entire blog post, and one might say, the entire year. These two pictures aren’t from the identical location, rather from two nearby sites on the same hill a year apart, but I truly believe these photos are representative of the development of the restoration over the past year. Even though the second picture was taken a couple weeks earlier in the summer it shows a denser, more varied canopy of plants and a much higher percentage of ground cover. While I was happy with the development in 2021 I worried that it would take 20 years to achieve full ground cover on the eroded, damaged hills, and that aside from a little pollinator food very few ecosystem benefits would accrue. Certainly the 2021 picture doesn’t yell out “Carbon Sequestration!” with the sparsity of vegetation. However, while the 2022 picture may not be yelling, it may at least be quietly suggesting “carbon sequestration”. The improvement also means that I no longer worry so much about erosion because of the lack of ground cover. These soils will always have some gaps that show the gravel underneath and allow annuals to grow after summer rains, but if I look at the hilltops a few hundred yards away in the relict prairies, those gaps are very small, and I can now visualize my restoration reaching that standard soon. These sites are very droughty, and as such have a limited number of species which will grow there long-term, and I see that sorting process progressively occurring on the restoration, with the grasses and wildflowers that need more water wasting away and being replaced by a burgeoning cover of xeric adapted species as the winnowing process continues. Eventually, the tall warm-season grasses and mesic adapted forbs, which are already sparse on these hills, will disappear and the xeric species should take over. If one could look closely enough I think we would find almost all of the species in the 2022 picture are plants that survive droughty soils.

In short, I am ecstatic at the progress that has been made during the last year. The area where those pictures were taken received almost all its seed in three or four topdressings one and two years after the original seeding. As such it was a blank slate upon which my gathered forbs were spattered in my best Jackson Pollock imitation, and there is less competition from the seed that I purchased for the original CRP seeding. In areas that received more of the seed during the original seeding, mostly better soils, there are fewer of my gathered forbs as there were fewer open spaces they could fill and much more below ground root competition, but I see quite a few plants of some of the more common species that have resulted from the topdressings, such as tall cinquefoil, white penstemon, slender penstemon, black samson and stiff sunflower. And I see scattered plants of many others, including leadplant, alumroot, silky and sky blue asters, gray goldenrod, prairie smoke and even a few groundplum milkvetch. As I keep saying (and keep reminding myself) we are playing the long game here, and even a few of the right plants in the right place could have a big impact in fifty or a hundred years. The next picture was taken about 200 yards from the previous photo. Between the scattered plants from seed gathered from my prairies, some possible further augmentation and potential seed spread from more diverse areas nearby I have high hopes for areas like this, which lack the maximum diversity of the best areas of the restoration, but have great potential.

I have a greater dilemma on 25 acres of mesic soil that received the full complement of seed during the original CRP seeding in June, 2018. Actually, much of it received a double or even a triple seeding. As this was immediately obvious later that year, this area received far less of the gathered seed the subsequent two years. Thus, it is far less diverse than the 50 acres to the north and west. It would be Zone 1 on the map below (the previous discussion was primarily on Zones 2 and 3).

The dilemma here is twofold. First, do I want to spend the time and money to augment the 30 species found on this area? Second, do I want to do something to control/thin out the ubiquitous Canada thistle patches that cover much of this (the mowing shown in the picture above was primarily to keep thistles from going to seed). The two topics are deeply intertwined because most of the thistles are not in thick, discrete patches, but scattered generously throughout the zone, so management of thistles with herbicide inevitably affects the forbs. At present the thistles aren’t impeding growth of the native species that were planted, but they are very competitive and may do so in the future. I do not expect to be concerned with management of thistles down the road, because at some point the restoration has to stand on its own, but at present it is still in its formative stage and I want to give it the best chance to develop. I have been tempted to broadcast spray the 30 acres with Milestone herbicide, accept that it will diminish the forb composition, and then topdress reinforcements. After reflection I have put that idea to the side and have done an experiment. Last fall I spent 4-6 hours laboriously spot treating the west couple acres on Zone 1 with herbicide. My best guess is that less than 5% of the ground actually got herbicide, meaning I had very little impact on existing forbs, but that perhaps 70-80% of the thistles got herbicide, hopefully significantly thinning the stand. Next spring I will get to evaluate the experiment, decide whether it is a good time to topdress a more diverse mix of seed over this area, and also to decide whether it is worth continuing the practice on more of Zone 1. My hope had been to do 4-5 acres but aspirations are sometimes no more than aspirations. It’s difficult to bring all your hopes to fruition.

Another symbol of progress this year was all the new species that I found in the restoration, both expected and surprising (I will list them in a bit). What follows is an incomplete pictorial compilation, but indicative of the variety I saw.

The common thread here is simple. It should not be surprising to find new species or to find existing species in new areas. The standard reply to this occurring is that many prairie species will be quite small and hard to find for a prolonged period of time while they develop a crown, a deep root system and carbohydrate reserves sufficient to justify reproductive expenses, at which time they become more visible, though they may already be several years old. Most species also can have a portion of their seeds which have a prolonged dormancy, sometimes many years, before they germinate and grow. It can also be true that there could be new seed being transported from adjacent prairies or other areas of the restoration. The last reason is certainly true for both the yellow sundrops and the panicled aster which I did not spread, at least not knowingly. Conversely, I have no bottle gentians in my relict prairie, and the nearest that I know of are a couple miles away, so these obviously came from seed spread four years ago; they have just been patiently hiding until now. And the larkspur and the prairie sandreed could be from either source, because I spread new seed (a little larkspur and a fair amount of sandreed), and they also occur in the adjacent pasture (once more, a little larkspur and a fair amount of sandreed). My best count is that I have now found 124 native prairie species in the restoration, primarily in Zones 2 and 3. I have likely lost half a dozen of that number that I saw 2-4 years ago and not since, though I had a small epiphany last summer regarding jumping to conclusions as evidenced below:

I had seen a couple flat topped asters 3 years ago on one the gravel hills. The species is not adapted to xeric sites, however, so I wasn’t surprised when I did not see it the past two years. Then, late this summer I found several blooming near the drainage that cuts across the restoration, an appropriately moist site for flat topped aster. In the Midwest it is noted as a “facultative wetland” species, meaning that it doesn’t require soggy feet, but neither does it mind wet toes. This is another species that I have not found in my prairies, and the restoration is on the western border of flat topped aster’s range, but there could easily be other examples within a few miles, and I am happy to have found some. Maybe there will be other revelations in 2023.

Here is the list of new species found in the restoration in 2022:

1. Needle and thread (Heterostipa comata)
2. Virginia wildrye (Elymus virginicus)
3. Prairie sandreed (Calamovilfa longifolia)
4. Tall/Prairie dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis)
5. Prairie cordgrass (Spartina pectinata)
6. Flodman’s thistle (Cirsium flodmanii)
7. Bottle gentian (Gentiana andrewsii)
8. Ball/Pincushion cactus (Coryphantha vivipara) I transplanted about 10 that cows had dislodged in the adjacent pasture and some appear to have survived.
9. Standing/Prairie milkvetch (Astragalus adsurgens)
10. Joe Pye weed (Eutrochium maculatum)
11. Panicled aster (Symphyotricum lanceolatum)
12. Prairie blazing star (Liatris pynostachya)
13. Northern plains/Meadow blazing star (Liatris ligustylis)
14. Harebell (Campanula rotundifolia)
15. Yellow avens (Geum aleppicum)
16. Early figwort (Scrophularia lanceolata)
17. Green milkweed (Asclepias viridiflora) This and the other milkweeds are from transplants that were surplus from a graduate project of Grace Villmoe, who works with Dr. Lora Perkins at South Dakota State University (SDSU) and I think some of each species survived.
18. Slim leafed milkweed (Asclepias stenophylla)
19. Plains milkweed (Asclepias pumila)
20. Showy milkweed (Asclepias speciosa)
21. Spotted bee balm (Monarda punctata)

A new activity I engaged in this year, and one which I hope to continue in 2023 and beyond, is augmenting populations of selected species with transplants of seedlings that have been grown offsite over the winter/spring. I transplanted 250-300 plugs of in mid to late May this year. They had been grown in greenhouse space at SDSU by staff working with my friend, Dr. Perkins. Other than some transplants of the four species of milkweed listed above, the seedlings were grown from seed gathered by me on my prairies. They would have been better off had they been transplanted several weeks earlier to allow for more rooting before hot weather occurred, but health issues didn’t allow that to happen. When I evaluated them during the first week of June, a couple weeks after planting, I estimated 70-75% survival, a success rate I would have been very happy with. However, a very hot and windy three day spell just after that evaluation dropped survival to 25-30% Would 2-3 weeks longer in the ground have provided enough roots to keep more alive? It’s impossible to know, but is likely, and the lessons that I learned will be implemented next spring with several hundred more seedlings. We will see what we can accomplish. Subsequently, I received a couple hundred left over seedlings of several species from another graduate project at SDSU and planted as many as I could in October with the hope that they will overwinter and begin growth next spring.

The final activity of my year was the seeding on the 20 acres in the northeast corner of the quarter, labeled “still farmed” on the map above. I recently did an entire post on that so won’t dwell on it, but will just mention that with that final piece in place the entire quarter was accepted by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service for a grassland easement, a topic that is likely to get its own blog post in the future. This will be a perpetual easement, meaning the restoration will have a chance to “live long and prosper”, a phrase that I think is a fine coda to this post, as I hope the same thing for myself and for anyone who reads this. Happy New Year!

Additions from 2023:

1. Culvers root (Veronicastrum virginicum) Late last summer I saw a tall wildflower from a distance and was amazed when it turned out to be a 4′ tall culvers root. As far as I know I did not plant any, and there are no native examples for close to 100 miles (though there is always the chance there are a few nearby that have never been documented). Most likely it was a hitchhiker in some purchased seed that I spread. One plant of any species will certainly die out, so I am trying to decide whether to add more or just let nature take its course.
2. Western snowberry, Buckbrush or Wolfberry(Syymphoricarpus occidentalis) Wolfberry is a common shrub of the area, with colonies (it is rhizomatous) in every native pasture, often many thick colonies in overgrazed pastures. It is likely called buckbrush because the big deer use it for sleeping and hiding in during the day, but my memories are of searching through patches looking for calves whose mothers had stashed them there while off grazing. I have a clear memory of spooking a 1-2 day old calf out of a patch, which immediately sprinted in the opposite direction through a barbed wire fence. I remember my father was quite upset with me, as I don’t think we ever found it.
3. False indigo (Amorpha fruticosa, though there is a possibility it is a close relative, A. nana) Like the snowberry, this is a small native shrub that found its own way into the restoration from adjacent native pasture.
4. Sand sage, or Field sage (Artemisia campestris) These are common on the site, but I had neglected to mention them in the past as they are a somewhat weedy biennial.
5. Field gumweed (Grindelia squarrosa) Another biennial weedy native I have decided to list. Unlike the sand sage which is ubiquitous in my better prairies, gumweed is more clearly a weed which infests overgrazed pastures. only a few in the restoration.
6. Showy goldenrod (Solidago speciosa) A close relative of Canada goldenrod that can hybridize with it, but I think that I have identified some. These tall, aggressive goldenrods are the bane of restoration practitioners in true tall grass prairie restorations farther east, but are a welcome addition as pollinator candy in my harsher environment.
7. Oval leaved milkweed (Asclepias ovalifolia) Transplanted from Dave Ode seed out by Pierre last summer.
8. Unknown milkvetch (Astragalus sp.) This is an addition from old seed that my friend Dr. Arvid Boe had gathered in western SD some years ago. It was mislabeled and of uncertain identity .
9. Sand/Field sage (Artemisia campestris) This is a short-lived weedy native that is common in the gravel hills, filling up extra biotic space when conditions allow which worked its way in.