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stahlpferd t1_iwlsz7x wrote

Reply to comment by FriesWithThat in boy I sure do love the very 100% natural grasslands of eastern washington by Expandatory

There's way less native prairie left because to be native prairie, the land had to never have any cattle or farming. I don't think Steptoe meets that definition. About the only publicly owned native palouse prairie that's left is owned by the university. It's called Magpie Forest and it's pretty cool. There are a few other acres of privately owned native prairie around, but it's really rare.

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FriesWithThat t1_iwmhaut wrote

True. The concept of ecological restoration is also a moving target. It neither makes sense nor is possible to restore it to how it was before because many of those species of flora and fauna do not exist natively in the region any more, or could survive and contribute productively to the biodiversity of the target ecosystem. You just kind of make a plan, shoot for it, and adjust as it evolves. The Magpie Forest is neat and very accessible but there are certainly a lot of non-native species there now, which is fine. The other ones you mention: Rose Creek Preserve, and the privately accessible one south of town are better examples of what they would aim towards out at Steptoe. I worked at the one south of town and there's nothing immediately spectacular about it that would grab the attention of people who aren't patient, or don't appreciate such things—it's very much a prairie-density sort of land, no water like at Rose, and more of an island within the surrounding agriculture, but every now and then things get very quiet and you look around and you start seeing different species of birds and hawks soaring in the skies above, or you notice the giant but gentle bumble bees all around you in large numbers. Things that are just sort of unobtrusively co-existing, contributing and dependent on that environment.

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LafayetteHubbard t1_iwmnbno wrote

Native prairies were actually grazed by large herbivores before European settlement (bison) so it actually is possible to have harmony with cattle grazing and native prairies. Albeit, good management practices are imperative to maintain a healthy ecosystem.

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