Keepers of the Prairie
By Frank Kartch
One of natures most productive and enduring bonds is the marriage between hoofed animals and native prairie, an evolutionary partnership that ensures survival for both. Lets look back . . . into the not-so-distant past, at the Missouri Coteau grasslands, located in Dakota Territory. The coteau is a 12,000-year-old prairie ecosystem made up of rolling grass-covered hills glittering with thousands of shallow wetlands, a one-time haven for buffalo, and the best of the best habitat for breeding waterfowl.
Its 1850, and a large buffalo herd is on the move again, pushed by thirst and the need for new grass. Ever present wolves, herd managers extraordinaire, use fear to keep the ungulates bunched up. Every third day the herd stops to water at night. Nervous, they dont stay long, saving fragile shorelines from the damaging effects of overgrazing. The morning air is pierced by the sound of a bawling calf, struggling for its last breath. A wave of panic starts at the back of the herd and moves forward. The herd stampedes. There is a dust cloud and a thunderous roar. A mile away ground vibrations create ripples on a score of wetlands. A northern pintail quickly moves her brood of eight ducklings into the water. Thousands of splayed hoofs pound life into the grasslands, mulching seeds, grass litter, and concentrated dung and urine into the soil.
Fifty miles away a jagged lightning bolt hits a parched bed of green needle and blue grama grasses. Afternoon winds push the fire for miles, leaving a black carpet from horizon to horizon. Twenty miles to the south a violent prairie thunderstorm unleashes four inches of rain and hail, flattening the prairie and filling wetland basins to overflowing. The coteaus diverse mix of grasses, sedges, and flowering forbs thrive under these brief but high-energy impacts of pounding hooves, fire, and extreme weather events.
Early settlers in what is now Hyde County, South Dakota, found it difficult to farm this short to mid-grass prairie. Crop failures were the norm. Annual rainfall averaged only 1012 inches. They wrote to kin back east not to come out if they intended to farm the land: this is livestock country. The elders pointed to the buffalo, referring to them as cows because of their size and grazing habits. By October, they noticed that the herds were in their best condition, fat and ready for winter. Buffalo calves went from a birth weight of 30 pounds in April to nearly 400 pounds by late fall. Following this example, the settlers raised grass-fed beef and horses for the U.S. calvary stationed in Dakota Territory. Raising livestock on the coteauwell, it was a no-brainer. As to the buffalo, a final wanton assault on the remaining herds was triggered by a tanning discovery in Germany that turned their thick hides into fine grade leather. By 1885, the pounding hoves were effectively removed from Americas vast tableland of grass.
By the 1920s, it was thought that most of the tillable ground in Dakota Territory was already cropland. We then experienced the dust bowl years, with horrible impacts on farmers, ranchers, and the American psyche. Some of our prairie states were showing clear signs of widespread desertification. It has not abated.
In 2004, the bond between the hoof and the Missouri Coteau grasslands is hanging by a thread. Make no mistake about it: The remaining unprotected grasslands in the Missouri Coteau are under an immediate, accelerated assault. Hyde County is now considered ground zero. The county mirrors the rest of the coteau, with less than half of its original grasslands still remaining. Surviving ranchers have the daunting task of converting grass to beef. There are no loan deficiency payments, no subsidized insurance, and no disaster payments--no safety net. Rising forage and feed costs and shrinking, isolated pastures are forcing some livestock producers to give up the ranch. New plant genetics, drought-resistant crops, and farm programs have put once unfarmable pastures under the profitable plow.
In 1998, DUs Great Plains Regional Office initiated the Grasslands for Tomorrow program. The name is a purposeful reminder that wetlands and grassland must be available each spring if waterfowl and livestock will have a productive year. To date, DU, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, private landowners, and other partners have combined resources to perpetually protect more than 600,000 acres of grassland in the Missouri Coteau of North and South Dakota. Since 1998 DU has purchased more than 23,000 acres of coteau lands and then placed perpetual easements on unprotected wetlands and grasslands. DU, working with the local ranching community, has allowed grazing on these acquired pastures, employing a managed, rotational grazing system.
The subsidized destruction of 12,000-year-old native prairie goes unnoticed by an urbanized America. It is profoundly disturbing. As Americans we value the real and romantic ties we have with our prairie heritage. We must embrace the custodians of our remaining grasslands. Lets step forward and collectively share the responsibility of being todays
--and tomorrows--keepers of the prairie.
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