Prairie Works

On the grounds of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum is Curtis Prairie. Curtis Prairie holds the unique title of being the world’s first prairie restoration. In the late 1920′s the university decided to take on an experiment in hopes of emulating a Midwest prairie for research and display. The history of this project is very important as this was the first prairie restoration and many of the techniques that we use today were learned here.

The first deliberate attempt to reconstruct an ecosystem began in 1933. The University acquired two farms West of the campus for the future arboretum and a 60-acre prairie site was chosen. The original prairie was broken there in 1836 and there were no signs of that prairie remaining. The idea was sprouted from wisconsin botanist Norman Fassett. In 1929  Dr. Theodore Sperry was chosen to direct the effort with the supervision of  Aldo Leopold and William Longenecker. Around 200 recruits from the Civil Conservation Corp (CCC) were used to execute three different types of planting. One, was collecting seed from prairie remnants along the Wisconsin River and inserting them into the ground. Another was to grow small seedlings in a nursery setting and plant them individually. The last, and most intensive, was to actually dig up prairie sod from remaining prairies and lay it in place. The results varied greatly as the seasonal timing was not known to be as important as it is today. In 1938, the first prairie plants that survived were blooming on the site. Between 1941 and 1946 John Curtis took over and began focusing on controlled burning in order to control invasive weeds which served to be very useful. He also began to study the effects of seed stratification from seed the he was collecting. Throughout his reign as Arboretum director Curtis began emphasizing the timings of the controlled burns and observed the differences. He continued with his prairie management experiments until his death in 1961. In 1962, the prairie was officially named Curtis Prairie in his honor. The experiments have never stopped. Today, soil scientists are using this site to determine weather soils can return to the pre-settlement health after the return of a prairie. So far the answer is, yes. Many invasive species control studies are carried out here as well studies on hydrology shifts and the creation of buffer zones.  

In the 1930′s a newspaper reporter asked Dr. Theodore Sperry how long it would take to complete the restoration, he replied “Roughly a thousand years.” I guess that still holds true. Today, this prairie restoration serves as a testament to the rewards of ecological restoration as a science. Thankfully, we have learned a lot since then and the experimental risks have been greatly reduced, but will never be eliminated. This experiment also reflects the University of Wisconsin and the entire state, as proof of its proggressiveness and its commitment to the environment.

http://uwarboretum.org/about/communities_collections/  UW Arboretum Site

Recently, I read a book of this same title by Curt Meine (Island Press, 2004). The book was about Aldo Leopold and the modern conservation movement. It made me think about correction lines in general and how interesting they are.

In the 1800s land surveyors divided most states west of New England up into squares to organize the land and to make for easier homesteading. The Public Land Survey System was the brainchild of Thomas Jefferson and his plan was for the land to be divided into six-mile square townships and 640 acre parcels of land called sections. This is also why our popular land parcels are in increments of 40 acres, hence “the back forty.” The resulting pattern gives us the checkerboard appearence from above that we see today: a quilt of pastures, cropfields, woodlands and city limits. When the surveyors started laying out these squares they found a problem: The earth is round. Dividing the land into perfect squares is like putting a peice of gridpaper around a tennis ball.

To solve this problem surveyors designated east-west lines as ‘correction lines,’ which occurred every 20-30 miles of latitude moving northward, to compensate for the earth’s curvature. They reoriented themselves along these baselines by shifting slightly east or west and began a straight north/south line again. As they say, ”theory meets reality.”

Here in the Midwest we have some great examples of correction lines. Mostly apparent in flat terrain rather than hilly, these reality checks are still very much with us. Ever wonder why a road comes to a T-intersection just to continue again 100 feet over? How about those strange ‘S’ curves on a seemingly straight road?

Some great examples of correction lines can be found across the entire Wisconsin/Illinois state line. This was chosen as a convenient correction line and today you can view all the way across. The above photo shows two correction lines just North of Scales Mound, IL, at the state line. Another great example is Base Line Rd. which stretches from Kane to Ogle County in Northern Illinois and another Base Line Rd. 28 miles south of that one, which serves as the boundary of 4 counties.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Land_Survey_System Public Land Survey System