Members of The Wetlands Initiative’s Midewin field crew – Jim Conboy, Rachel Rohde, and Matt Taber mix the prairie seeds by hand in the Horticultural Building at the USDA Forest Service’s Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, 30239 S. State Rt. 53 Wilmington, IL 60481. Photo by Julie Larsen/ USDA Forest Service - Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie
For Immediate Release
Winter Planting at the USDA Forest Service’s Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie
WILMINGTON, Ill. (March 7, 2019) At the USDA Forest Service’s Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, over 10,000 pounds of seed will be planted to establish various types of prairie in the coming month. Seed preparation has begun for over 700 acres of new restoration areas.
Many partner organizations and individuals participate in the restoration work on the prairie at Midewin throughout the year. Recently, the National Forest Foundation, the Wetlands Initiative and volunteers mixed the seeds of 175 different plant species tailored to each of Midewin’s different prairie habitats.
Gary Sullivan and Assistant Ecologist Anna Braum of The Wetlands Initiative weighing components for the prairie seed mix at the USDA Forest Service’s Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, 30239 S. State Rt. 53 Wilmington, IL 60481. Photo by Julie Larsen/ USDA Forest Service – Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie.
Beginning with the smaller quantities required, each seed species is meticulously weighed according to a “recipe” indicated for each habitat. These seeds are then added to a larger mix of the appropriate seeds. Most of the larger quantities of seed will be mixed offsite and then broadcasted across the former soybean fields near Midewin’s Henslow Trail.
Generally, the amount of moisture in the soil dictates the type of habitat and these seed mixes will reflect Midewin’s mesic, gravel, sand, wet, sedge meadow, marsh, and savannah prairie habitats. Some examples of the seed for this prairie habitat restoration include: little blue stem, compass plant, prairie blazing star, wild petunia, prairie violets, blue flag iris, cardinal flower, climbing wild rose, and purple milkweed among many other plant species.
