Catching the Prairie Bug

While we are celebrating prairies during National Prairie Day (first Saturday in June), I thought it would be helpful to re-visit and update a past post (originally published in July 2024) about prairie ecosystems in the Driftless.

For people who know me, it's no surprise that I've "caught the prairie bug." Two years ago, as part of my MN Master Naturalist training hours, I went on a guided hike sponsored by The Prairie Enthusiasts and the Friends of the Blufflands. That hike - to see three prairie remnants in the "string of pearls" prairies in upper Hixon Forest in La Crosse  - absolutely ignited my passion for these amazing fire-dependent ecosystems. 

The Driftless area is home to many remnant prairies nestled at the tops of bluffs, steeply dropping along the southwest bluff slopes and on the dry sand prairies surrounding the Mississippi River.  During the summer, these lovely prairie remnants are alive with native flowers, grasses, pollinators and other insect and wildlife. Each visit throughout the summer months is a feast of beauty and discovery. 

Looking down at the steep restored Lookout Prairie,
 a goat prairie at Hixon Forest
Image - Larry Sleznikow

Sand prairie wild lupines 
Trempealeau (WI) Wildlife Refuge

There are two main types of prairies in the Driftless area. They are both fire dependent ecosystems. 

Goat prairies - also known as hill, dry or bluff prairies - are what you often see on blufftops or steep south, southwest-facing slopes.  The steepness leads to the name - so steep only the goats could use it. 

Sand prairies are found on sand deposits surrounding the Mississippi River, especially in the La Crosse and Prairie du Chien areas of WI, MN and IA.

Heading up Rush Creek (WI) goat prairie

Our Driftless prairie remnants are thousands of years old. How did they survive the influx of agriculture that swept through the places where Europeans colonized? 

Many of the goat prairie remnants made it because they were too steep to be farmed or grazed, had very few trees and were very dry. In fact, during a time of drought in the last twenty years, prairie seekers were able to identify additional remaining remnants by driving along looking for green areas in the drought-stricken Driftless. Those green places were often dry sand and goat prairies where the plants thrived in those conditions. 

Up until the last two hundred years or so, these fire-dependent ecosystems were the dominant feature of the Driftless area. 

Looking at historic drawings from the 1800's, one sees the tall grass prairies of the southwest-facing slopes of the bluffs with occasional scrub oaks rather than the heavily forested bluffs of today. The only forests tended to be on the north slopes. Frequent fires set by indigenous people or produced naturally kept the prairies open and free of woody plants. Once settlers came in and fires were suppressed, the forests took over these habitats.

Note the unforested  bluffs
Watercolor of ‘Wabasha’s Village on the Mississippi River
Painted ca.1845 by Seth Eastman. Photo: MN Historical Society
Source: The Driftless: the land and the humans. February 1, 2021

The loss of burning to control woody plants has resulted in ever-shrinking remnants. One of the most pernicious woody plants is red cedar (sometimes referred to as the "green glacier") which is tenacious and spreads broadly across the remnants that are left. In order to have a healthy prairie, removal of trees like red cedar and prescribed burning on a regular basis is necessary. 

The burning also allows new growth of healthy flowering plants with the newly open soil. Grasses and thatch build up before a burn. After burns, flowering forbs can emerge with new vigor, continuing to strengthen the diversity of the remnant.

Today, less than .01% of these original prairies are left. They store carbon and the deep-rooted plants hold the soil. These remnants are a wild mix of rare native grasses, flowers and abundant prairie-dependent insect and wildlife. It's estimated that there are over 100 plants that are unique to these prairie ecosystems and over 1000 insects that are dependent on prairie plants. So each saved prairie remnant is a biodiversity celebration.

Here on the right are just a few of the lovely prairie forbs that show this rarity and diversity. 

Clockwise from left: Lead plant is an indicator of a healthy prairie. They can live to be up to 100 years old, with deep roots.

The narrowleaf milkweed and whorled milkweed are two of many milkweed species that can be appreciated.

Mountain death camus is named for it's toxicity to humans and livestock.

The small Leonard skullcap is a delicate, incredibly intricate 1cm flower found on short stalks - they are  easy to miss and a delight to find.

The original prairies had topsoil that was on average 15" deep - or more. They were literally "old-growth sod," as Jon Rigden has referred to them. The deep-rooted native forbs and grasses anchored the soil and their breakdown built it as well. When converted to agricultural uses, the many farmed areas eventually eroded to a mere 2-3" of topsoil. 

My very first "aha" learning moment on this came during my MN Master Naturalist volunteer training. We were learning the history of the Whitewater MN area bluffs area. The destruction of the steep bluff slopes occurred when prairies were replaced with farm fields. Neither wheat nor corn roots could hold the slopes. The erosion was massive and the run-off choked the river.  Occasional floods became so frequent that the community of Beaver MN was basically flooded out and lost its population and economic base. No one would buy existing properties. The state of MN came in and bought the land and it eventually became part of Whitewater State Park and Wildlife Management Area. 

Above is a graphic on the floor of the Visitor Center at Whitewater (MN) State Park. It compares the root length of native prairie forbs and grasses with agricultural plants (the two on the left). The long native plant roots hold the soil on steep slopes far better than crops.

We are fortunate to have so many people concerned with prairie restoration. Thanks to groups like The Prairie Enthusiasts (TPE), Friends of the Blufflands, Mississippi Valley Conservancy and other conservation- and restoration-minded groups, individuals and agencies, these amazing remnants are being restored and maintained in many places in the Driftless. Prescribed fires, invasives control and removal (buckthorn, red cedar, honeysuckle, black locust, roundleaf bittersweet are among the invasives), seed saving and broadcasting and carefully planned forest management in surrounding forests done by these groups have created a strong archipelago of prairies throughout the blufflands regions. 

They are always looking for volunteers to help, so please contact them or consider joining their organizations.

A lush prairie full of grasses, forbs, pollinators - and people!
Hixon Forest's Zoerb Prairie

For additional information, stop by for a listen to WDRT, Viroqua's community radio station Conversations show with TPE's Jim Rogala and TPE/Friend of the Blufflands Jon Rigden from June 5, 2025. They explore the concept of prairies and the work of the Prairie Enthusiasts and Friends of the Blufflands. This conversation finds its way into this post as well. Thank you Jim and Jon!

For a list of suggested summer prairie hikes to help you catch the prairie bug, please stop here.

Images, unless noted - Marge Loch-Wouters

 Brownsville Bluff (MN) in May
Image - Kris Lawson