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High hopes for the tallgrass prairie: where
once they spread across much of North America, today these habitats are among
Ontario's least known and most endangered |
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Subjects: |
Grasslands, Prairies, Environment |
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Classification
Codes |
9172 |
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Locations: |
Ontario
Canada |
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Author(s): |
Burridge,
Mary, Metsger, Deborah |
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Publication
title: |
Rotunda. Toronto: Summer/Fall
2002. Vol. 35, Iss. 1; pg. 9 |
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Source
Type: |
Periodical |
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ISSN/ISBN: |
00358495 |
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ProQuest
document ID: |
506662741 |
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Text
Word Count |
1098 |
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Article
URL: |
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Abstract (Article Summary) |
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THE BEAUTY AND
OPENNESS of the prairies made them attractive not only to naturalists but to
farmers as well. It was far easier to plow a prairie than to fell and
de-stump a forest. So, prairies were converted to farmers' fields, with
farmhouses often built in the adjacent savanna under the protection of the
trees. As towns and cities were built, the grasslands across North America
succumbed to development. By 1936, ecologist Aldo Leopold wrote of the
tallgrass prairie in his book A Sand County Almanac: "No living man will
see again the long-grass prairie, where a sea of prairie flowers lapped at
the stirrups of the pioneer." With less than 1 percent remaining, the
prairies have become one of the most endangered habitats on the planet. AS ONTARIO'S
TALLGRASS habitats became endangered, so too did the wealth of plants and
animals that inhabited them. Elk that formerly roamed many North American
grasslands, including those of southwestern Ontario, have vanished; now they
inhabit only remote mountainous regions. The Greater Prairie Chicken requires
undisturbed tallgrass prairie, and so has been extirpated from Ontario, now
occurring only in Manitoba and south of the border. At the smaller end of the
spectrum, the tiny Karner Blue Butterfly with a wingspan of only 2.5 cm (less
than an inch) is now extirpated from the prairies of Ontario because of the
scarcity of wild lupine, which the butterfly's larvae feeds on. Other species
that still have a toe-hold but are considered to be rare or endangered
include the American badger, pink milkwort, eastern Massasauga rattlesnake,
small white lady's slipper, and northern bobwhite. The tallgrass
prairie lands of Walpole Island First Nation in southwestern Ontario south of
Sarnia are the finest remaining tallgrass sites left in the province because
they have been carefully used and regularly burned by Aboriginal people for
centuries. On Walpole Island today, education programs for youth are
presented to ensure that tallgrass prairie will be preserved in the territory
for generations to come. Elsewhere, tallgrass sites that are being preserved,
restored, and maintained include Ojibway Prairie, Pinery Provincial Park,
City of Brantford Greenway, Turkey Point Provincial Park, High Park, and
Rainbow Prairie. |
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Full Text (1098 words) |
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Copyright Royal Ontario Museum Summer/Fall 2002 [Graph Not
Transcribed] FOR MOST
PEOPLE, the term prairie conjures up images of the Midwest--vast expanses of
flat lands and wheat fields, or open grasslands with bison roaming freely.
But prior to European settlement, grasslands covered 90 million hectares
(222.3 million acres) of central North America, extending from the Rocky
Mountains to Ontario and Ohio, and from Oklahoma and Texas up through
Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. These
grasslands formed in areas with well-drained soils where there was not enough
moisture to sustain a forest, but where deep-rooted grasses and herbs could
survive. For centuries Native peoples used fire to keep the grasslands open
for hunting, gathering plants, and travel. Fires burned off the litter layer
and killed any woody plants that had seeded in, halting the process of
succession to forest. Not all of the
North American prairies were vast. In Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ontario, where
the grasslands reached their northern and eastern limits, prairies and
savannas occurred as a patchwork growing among the deciduous forest. Open
prairies dominated by wildflowers and tallgrasses up to 3 metres high graded
into savannas with scattered trees growing in open spaces, and then to
woodlands with 25 to 35 percent tree cover. Southern Ontario was dotted with
this mosaic of grassland. The
19th-century Canadian naturalist Catherine Parr Traill encountered prairie
habitats when she moved to the Peterborough Plains. In 1836 she wrote:
"These plains form a beautiful natural park... enameled with a variety
of the most exquisite flowers, and planted, as if by Nature's own hand."
Today, tallgrass prairies and savannas are Ontario's least known and most
endangered habitat. Endangered
Spaces THE BEAUTY AND
OPENNESS of the prairies made them attractive not only to naturalists but to
farmers as well. It was far easier to plow a prairie than to fell and
de-stump a forest. So, prairies were converted to farmers' fields, with
farmhouses often built in the adjacent savanna under the protection of the trees.
As towns and cities were built, the grasslands across North America succumbed
to development. By 1936, ecologist Aldo Leopold wrote of the tallgrass
prairie in his book A Sand County Almanac: "No living man will see again
the long-grass prairie, where a sea of prairie flowers lapped at the stirrups
of the pioneer." With less than 1 percent remaining, the prairies have
become one of the most endangered habitats on the planet. Endangered
Species AS ONTARIO'S
TALLGRASS habitats became endangered, so too did the wealth of plants and
animals that inhabited them. Elk that formerly roamed many North American
grasslands, including those of southwestern Ontario, have vanished; now they
inhabit only remote mountainous regions. The Greater Prairie Chicken requires
undisturbed tallgrass prairie, and so has been extirpated from Ontario, now
occurring only in Manitoba and south of the border. At the smaller end of the
spectrum, the tiny Karner Blue Butterfly with a wingspan of only 2.5 cm (less
than an inch) is now extirpated from the prairies of Ontario because of the
scarcity of wild lupine, which the butterfly's larvae feeds on. Other species
that still have a toe-hold but are considered to be rare or endangered
include the American badger, pink milkwort, eastern Massasauga rattlesnake,
small white lady's slipper, and northern bobwhite. [Map Not
Transcribed] [Graph Not
Transcribed] Southwestern
Ontario has more rare and threatened species of both plants and animals than
any other part of Canada. These species are at risk either because they are
at the northern limit of their range or because their prairie habitats have
been degraded, reduced in size, or lost to farming, land development, and/or
succession to forest due to the suppression of wild fires. Without fires,
shrubs and trees invade the prairies' open spaces, shading out grasses and
wildflowers that are typical of a tallgrass prairie habitat. Preservation
and Restoration THERE IS A
MEASURE of hope in this doom-and-gloom account of Ontario's tallgrass
prairie. The province now has a formal Recovery Plan with the goal of
preserving the few remaining tracts of tallgrass habitat and, where possible,
restoring those that have been lost or degraded. The Recovery Plan challenges
everyone involved to protect tallgrass sites, manage important natural
processes such as fire, educate the public, and co-ordinate restoration
efforts. The tallgrass
prairie lands of Walpole Island First Nation in southwestern Ontario south of
Sarnia are the finest remaining tallgrass sites left in the province because
they have been carefully used and regularly burned by Aboriginal people for
centuries. On Walpole Island today, education programs for youth are
presented to ensure that tallgrass prairie will be preserved in the territory
for generations to come. Elsewhere, tallgrass sites that are being preserved,
restored, and maintained include Ojibway Prairie, Pinery Provincial Park,
City of Brantford Greenway, Turkey Point Provincial Park, High Park, and
Rainbow Prairie. Ojibway
Prairie is owned by the city of Windsor and the Ontario Ministry of Natural
Resources. Located within the city limits, the preservation and maintenance
of this network of native habitat sustains many rare and endangered species.
High Park, in the city of Toronto, has one of Ontario's largest remaining
stands of oak savanna; recreational use over the years almost destroyed the
savanna, but by ceasing to mow the grass, removing invasive species, carrying
out controlled burns, and planting native species, this important site is now
being restored. In Rainbow Prairie near Peterborough, community efforts are
recreating a prairie from farmland in a region where it once thrived. The most
notable interest group supporting Ontario's tallgrass habitats is Tallgrass
Ontario. The organization's mission is to identify, conserve, manage, and
restore tallgrass prairie, savanna, and related ecological communities in
Ontario. Its members are also involved in educating the public
(www.tallgrassontario.org). Take Action
and See for Yourself ANYONE CAN
BECOME involved in the preservation of Ontario's remaining tallgrass
habitats. A good place to start is the ROM's new Tallgrass Prairie Alcove in
the Hands-on Biodiversity Gallery. A visit to this gallery will increase your
knowledge of our natural heritage and will inspire you to visit these
endangered habitats for yourself. The best time to see Ontario's tallgrass
prairies and savannas is in late summer when the warm-season grasses and
wildflowers are at their peak. But remember, take only pictures, leave only
footprints. Having seen
the prairie, you may want to help restore this endangered ecosystem--either
by planting a prairie garden in your own backyard or by joining one of the
many restoration or reclamation efforts taking place throughout southern
Ontario. Contact your local parks department, MNR office, or Tallgrass
Ontario to find a project near you. Relevant organizations are listed in the
ROM's Tallgrass Prairie Alcove. |