Natural Resource Managment

Reestablishing native vegetation on Public Land is a long term goal of the Rathbun Lake Corps of Engineer's Natural Resource Management program.

Long term is an understatement. There is much more than the initial planting of trees, grasses, and forbs (wildflowers) to reestablish forests, savannas, and prairies. Climate, soil and prescribed burning (planned fires) will sort out the plants over time. Poorly adapted plants will die out. Well adapted plants that are in the general area but not planted on the specific spot will seed themselves in, to take their proper place.

The present challenge is identifying the missing plant species and reintroducing them. For example: Planting a small group of compass plants within a prairie planting lacking these typical prairie plants can, with time, repopulate the area with compass plants.

Most of the initial plantings were completed in the year 2000. The 1997 plantings are typical of the Corps' plantings. Twenty two and one-half acres were planted to native tree seedlings; 15.7 acres were planted to prairie grasses and forbs (wild flowers); four acres were over seeded by frost seeding with prairie grasses and forbs.

Our continuing Natural Resource Management program will use prescribed burning, reintroduction of native plant species and food plots. If you are interested in the reintroduction of native plants, drop by the Rathbun Information Center and visit with the Natural Resource Management staff.