Prairie Update
Hello Prairie Team,
This email is meant to serve as an update and record for everyone.
As a refresher, the mission of this land is:
Our mission for Karol’s Prairie is to create a sanctuary that restores and preserves this land as
a natural, uninterrupted prairie. Our vision is for Karol’s Prairie to be a place abundant with birds,
bees, butterflies, animals, and native grasses. This land should forever be a place for
conservation, education, and inspiration.
With that in mind here is the most recent update.
Soil Management
In late July/early August we partnered with Tom Graber, a neighbor, to graze his cattle on the prairie. This is by no means ideal grazing land yet as the forage isn't amazing and the well is not working. Tom was ok with the current limitations and opened a gate on the sound end of the pasture. One of his herds has been grazing the pasture just to the south. This property, which is connected to the Brue family, has water available for the cows. Tom is using his charger on our electric fencing to keep the cattle in. In exchange for this grazing, Tom is working on getting the well functioning. The well is just below the now collapsed windmill. (I would love to see us replace the old windmill with another windmill to pump the water.) On the attached image KarolsPrairieUpdate1.jpg you will see that the redlined area is our pasture. The yellow lined is the neighbors where the cow has been. The blue smudge at the bottom in the yellow area is where the water is for the cows. All said and done the cows walk a mile between the shade of our shelterbelt and the water of the south pasture. If you recall, integrated grazing is a component of our prairie restoration.
Under natural conditions, grazers are nature's gardeners:
Their hooves create seed-to-soil contact, helping dormant seeds to germinate and establish.
They break soil crusts that keep seeds from growing.
They trample standing vegetation into mulch that protects the soil and keeps it moist.
Their guts act like living compost piles, turning vegetation into high-quality fertilizer.
By pruning stale growth, they keep forage plants at peak production.
Pruning a plant's top causes its roots to self-prune. These dead roots become new soil.
The other historical land management strategy we hope to deploy in the future is burning. One final note is that grazing land isn't the goal. It is a tool we will use to reach our goal.
Shelterbelt
On the north end of the prairie, there are about 36 trees. Most have been there as long as anyone can remember. Shelterbelts in South Dakota have an expected lifespan similar to that of a human 60-80 years. While there is no longer a homestead to shelter, we do believe trees in this part of the property do and will continue to provide key habitat for wild species as well as shade for the cows and occasional volunteers. South Dakota NRCS is keen on these areas and they have provided this nice guide to some of the benefits.
https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/16/nrcs143_010026.pdf
They also have a nice guide on WINDBREAK/SHELTERBELT RENOVATION.
https://efotg.sc.egov.usda.gov/references/Agency/SD/Archived_650SGS_080707.pdf
We need to start this renovation with the removal of the 6-7 trees on the east edge of the property that shares the fence line with the Waltners. Currently, our trees extend over their fence considerably enough to make planting and harvesting that fence line difficult. Additionally, these trees are so old that they are literally just splitting and falling down. Maintenance on these trees is many decades overdue. I am recommending, after consulting with Ann and Tom, that we remove these trees with a track hoe (large tractor) by tipping them over into our pasture. Unless they are elm trees, we will just leave them to rot and serve as continued habitat. In the future, we can discuss replacing this line of trees with a new generation of trees. The Waltners have agreed to let us hire them out for this. We are estimating about $2k in time and equipment to do this work. Because we have not yet finalized the transfer of the land and funds to BAM this investment will need to be made by the Brue family.
Weed Management
I was out on the property last week and the thistles I did not get to have gone to seed and a small fresh batch of new thistle has come up along the creek in the shelterbelt. I will be heading out again next week to clear the remaining thistle from the eastern fence line manually and Tom is going to check, and possibly spray the thistle along the creek. If we are lucky we will have the thistle managed in 3-5 years with continuous pressure from cutting and spraying. At this point, we do not believe it is worth the investment to spray the whole pasture until spring next year. We have asked Tom to consider spraying it as he already does this in the neighboring pastures. Our thistle is most likely the result of overgrazing and lack of plant competition. Basically, nothing has been trying to stop them.
Waltner Drain Tile Project
Our neighbors to the east were able to get in the field and set drain tile. You can see where they set their tile and piped it down to our creek on the attached "Norway 15a" pdf. From a conservation and restoration plan, this option was the best of the least ideal options we had. The Waltner's have the legal right to drain their field right over the fence line but they made the additional investment to run pipe all the way down to the creek. We appreciate their additional investment. After consulting with Omar De Kok-Mercado from Iowa State we decided that the best way to integrate these drainpipes into the prairie, and minimize erosion, and capture the nitrates is to install a saturation buffer. On the attached Norway Buffer .pdf you can see how it would require us to put in additional lines that run alongside the creek and allow the water to basically seep in instead of just flow out of a pipe. Erosion and Nitrates are two things we don't want to send downstream. Andy Nickel who installed the drain tile for the Waltners said there is ample funding for this additional infrastructure and he would be eager to help us get this on the 2022 calendar. We will keep an eye on and document the effects of these drains on the land moving forward.
Land in Trust 501c2
Our attorney armed me with tons of homework to set up the new 501c2 structure. Once this structure is finalized the land title will be transferred. This 501c2 will have a board of directors hopefully comprised of family members, neighbors, tenants, and BAM people. All of us want and need these wild spaces to thrive. We all depend with great fragility on clean water and thriving pollinators. We hope that this land can do that all while supporting diverse wildlife. I will be asking many of you to serve on this board.
In the next 30 days:
Tree removal
NRCS Meeting 8/31 at 9a on the property.
If for some reason I misspelled anyone's name or got some information incorrect in this email please kindly let me know. My goal is to provide clear and comprehensive communication regarding this project.
Feel free to contact me with comments questions or concerns.
clint
