Prairie Restoration and Management

Land Department staff manage and restore prairies for the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community. The tribe has roughly 75 acres restored to native prairie. Like wetlands, restored prairies can be banked and credited. Prairies restored as wetland buffers provide a value to the wetland by increasing wildlife habitat, filtering pollutants, and controlling erosion. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers credits 1 acre of wetland for every 4 acres of upland prairie buffer. The tribe has 18.86 Acres of upland credit as part of the wetland bank established with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (refer to Wetland Management and Restoration). Most SMSC prairies were restored as wetland buffers.

Prairie restoration opportunities exist in almost all upland areas. SMSC prairies have been restored with species that are adapted to a Mesic environment and work well as buffers to wetlands. Mesic prairies occur on moderately drained, moist soils of nearly flat to sloping terrain.

We normally start a restoration by establishing an elevation line or delineating a boundary between the wetland and the upland. Then we broadcast a wetland seed mix of species more adapted to poorly drained soils. As the basin fills up, we can change water levels in the basin by adding or removing stop logs in the water control structure. This process controls the emergence non-native or noxious species. Herbicide application would follow, eliminating existing vegetation in the upland area and reducing competition with native plants. The tribe owns a Truax seed drill that we use to plant the upland prairie. The seed drill towed behind a tractor can cover relatively large areas and properly plant the seed mix. We plant the upland areas with seed mixes that are better suited to drained soils.

Managing prairies can be challenging but has to be done especially in the first few years of development. Prairie species compete with non-native species introduced from other countries as they establish themselves. These species have evolved in different ecosystems each with unique ways to control populations. There were no effective natural control methods for these plants in this country. The result was rapid spread and now difficulty controlling them in our prairie areas. A combination of mowing, herbicide and prescribed fire are ways land staff curbs the competition in favor native prairie species. If not managed, the newly planted areas usually end up a mess of non-native or noxious species.