Tallgrass prairie once spread throughout central North America, as did bear, elk, bison, and prairie wolf. In Iowa, 99.9% of this ecosystem has been lost to the plow--one of the most drastic and widespread landscape changes in human history. Over 95% of Iowa is now privately owned (the second highest percentage in the nation), the vast majority of which is corn and soybeans destined for consumption by hogs, chickens, and cows in massive confinment feeding operations.
Out of this monumental change has grown an equally unique response. Iowans have come to know, like almost no one else, that it is too late to save many of our "last great places", the call of the Nature Conservancy. Indeed, it is the truly greatest, most unbelievably rich places that disappear first. Such as Iowa.
We can protect Iowa's remaining postage stamp remnant prairies and savannas, but reconstruction is the primary tool for recreating vast swaths of flatland prairie, the kind that you can get lost in, along with a herd of bison. These are the places that will have the power and saliency to truly bring Iowa back to its rightful place as one of America's natural treasures and to finally sink the nail into the coffin of the pessimistic and simplistic idea of ecological sacrifice.
The best example of this kind of restoration is the Neil Smith National Wildlife Refuge just east of Des Moines. At 8,000 acres and only 15 years, it is one of the most ambitious restoration projects ever, though by no means is it finished.
For now, however, many of the smaller reconstructions that dot the rest of Iowa are more beautiful and diverse. They have given many, many contemplative Iowans a chance to commune with their degraded landscape, and to try to revive it with their attention and intention. For me, prairie restoration has been one of the most hopeful and spiritually salubrious activities I have ever participated in. It has given me a chance to see how Iowans tick and to share in their long vision for the future of this most contentious landscape.
For more information, watch the trailer of the great documentary America's Lost Landscape: The Tallgrass Prairie.
