The Prairie
What is the Prairie?
• Grassland
– Usually temperate climate.
– Usually intercontinental.
– Relatively flat.
Prairie
• The word prairie is derived from the
French word “prataria”, or meadow,
which probably originated with the Latin
word “pratum”.
• It was coined by the French explorers
and trappers moving into Western
Canada and south into the US, during
the late 18th century, to describe the
“sea of grass”.
Grasslands of the World
• Central Africa - savanna
• Southern Africa - veldt
• Eurasia - steppe
• Australia - lowlands
• South America - pampas
• South America - llanos
How Was the Prairie
Created?
• Mountain development to the west created a
rain shadow, which favored the establishment
of grasslands over forests.
• Drought tolerant plants persisted or
immigrated from nearby.
• Grasses thrived, creating a fuel load that
could carry fire, trees, and shrubs were not
able to recover as quickly.
The Prairie Was Further
Developed By:
• Fire - short fire return interval.
The Prairie Was Further
Developed By:
– Presence of large herbivores.
During the Great Ice Age (Pleistocene Age) the ice
sheets lapped onto the Northern Plains, but the Great
Plains was the largely unglaciated region that extends
from the Gulf Coastal Plain in Texas northward into
Canada between the Central Lowland and the foot of
the Rocky Mountains.
The Prairie Was Further
Developed By:
• Extended periods of drought.
• Relatively short growing season.
Types of Prairies
The simplest division: by height
– Tall grass
– Mixed or mid-grass
– Short grass
By soil type:
– Sandhills of Nebraska
– Blackland Prairie of east Texas
Laramie County
• Some mixed grass prairie in the western
part of the county.
• Mostly short grass prairie throughout
the rest of the county.
• Some tall grass prairie grasses in wetter
areas.
Short Grass Prairie
• Two major components:
– Bluegrama (Bouteloua gracilis).
– Buffalo grass (Buchloe dactyloides).
Blue Grama
Buffalo Grass
Mixed Grass Prairie
• Grasses
– Needle & thread (Stipa comata)
– Western wheatgrass (Agropyron smithii)
– Sandberg bluegrass (Poa secunda)
– Needleleaf sedge (Carex eleocharis)
– Junegrass (Koeleria cristata)
– Indian ricegrass (Orzyopsis hymenoides)
Needle and Thread
Western
Wheatgrass
Sandberg
bluegrass
Needleleaf
Sedge
Prairie
Junegrass
Indian
Ricegrass
Mixed Grass Prairie
• Forbs:
– Pricklypear cactus (Opuntia polyacantha)
– Scarlet globemallow (Sphaeralcea coccinea)
– Fringed sage (Artemisia frigida)
– Hooded phlox (Phlox hoodii)
Pricklypear
Scarlet Globemallow
Fringed Sage
Hooded Phlox
Grasses in General
• Sod formers versus bunch grasses:
– Sod formers make a mat and spread by rhizomes
(above or underground stems).
– Bunch grasses grow in small clumps.
• Cool season versus warm season:
– C3 grasses are active when it’s cool and dormant
in heat (less drought tolerant).
– C4 grasses are actively growing in the hot
summer and dormant in the winter (very drought
tolerant).
– A true photosynthetic pathway difference.
NRCS, Bozeman, MT
How are Grasses Adapted
to the Prairie Environment?
• Mostly herbaceous plant tissue:
– Cheaper for the plant to manufacture every year.
• Meristematic tissue (growth buds) are very close to
the soil surface:
– Well protected during fire, soil temperatures
during a grass fire remain relatively low.
– Difficult to graze the meristematic tissue.
More Adaptations
• Regrowth of leaves and/or stems from
intercalary tissue = new leaf tissue can be
produced from the leaf itself, no buds
involved.
• Carbohydrates from photosynthesis are
translocated to protected area beneath the
soil surface in roots, rhizomes, bulbs, etc.
• About 75% of the grassland biomass occurs
below the soil surface = a large amount of
stored energy.
• Wind pollinated.
Drought Adaptations of
Prairie Grasses
• Leaves – small and narrow (reduces area
exposed for transpiration and heat absorption.
• Leaves - often with pubescence (slows rate of
transpiration and reflects solar radiation).
• Leaves - deciduous .
• Early growth period when moisture is available
(Junegrass).
• Very deeply rooted.
Forage Production 1988-1994
2000 160
1800
140
1600
120
1400
% Normal Precipitation
100
1200
kg/ha
1000 80
800
60
600
40
400
kg/ha % Normal Precipitation (123 years)
20
200
0 0
1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994
Year
What is the Status of the
Prairie?
• Less than 1% of the tall grass prairie remains,
most has been turned into cropland, or
drastically changed by haying or grazing.
• About 24% of the mixed grass prairie is intact,
most has been converted to cropland or
seeded to non-native forage species.
• About 18% of the short grass prairie is intact,
it has also been heavily impacted by grazing
of domestic livestock.
Managing your Piece
of the Prairie
640 acres Sixteen 40 acre parcels
Types of Property Available
in Laramie County
• Rangeland
• CRP - Conservation Reserve
Program
• Farmed or fallowed ground
Rangeland
• Average rangeland will have about 50%.
• Basal cover.
• Diverse species composition.
• Adequate seed bank.
• Soil structure.
CRP
• 20 - 25% basal cover.
• High percentage of smooth brome
(lower production, introduced species).
• Less diverse plant community.
• Easily eroded.
Farmed or Fallow Ground
• 10% basal cover or less.
• Highly erodible by wind or water.
• Weed invasion if not planted by next.
• Growing season.
Fencing
WY Fencing Statutes
11-28-101. Who considered owner.
• Any person occupying, using, enjoying,
maintaining or having the charge of any
enclosure shall be considered the
owner thereof, in any action
commenced under the provisions of
W.S. 11-28-101 through 11-28-108.
Minimum Construction
Standards
• 11-28-102. Lawful fences generally.
– (a) The following are lawful fences in this state:
• (i) A fence made of steel, concrete or sound wooden posts and
three (3) spans of barbed wire not more than fifteen (15) inches
or less than ten (10) inches apart, or two (2) spans of barbed
wire with a wooden rail on top. Wooden posts shall be at least
four (4) inches in diameter. Posts shall be set firmly in the
ground at least twenty (20) inches deep, at no greater distance
apart than twenty-two (22) feet between the posts or thirty-three
(33) feet with at least two (2) iron or wooden stays between the
posts. Stays shall be placed equal distance apart from
themselves and the post on either side;
Cost
• 11-28-106. Construction and maintenance of partition
fences.
• The owner of any lawful fence which is or becomes a partition
fence separating the owner's land from that belonging to some
other person may require the person to pay for one-half (1/2) of
what it would or does actually cost to construct the partition
fence. In case of refusal, the owner may maintain a civil action
against the person refusing and is entitled to recover one-half
(1/2) of what it would or did actually cost to construct that portion
of the partition fence used by the person and costs of suit. The
joint users of a partition fence shall contribute to the cost of
maintenance in proportion to their respective interests and if
either refuses to pay his share of the cost of maintenance, the
other may recover maintenance costs in the manner provided
for recovering the cost of construction.
Dogs
WY Dog Statutes
ARTICLE 3
ANIMALS RUNNING AT LARGE
• 11-31-301. Public nuisance; notice;
penalties; rules and regulations;
animal control districts and officers.
– (d) A dog injuring or killing livestock may
be killed by the owner of the livestock or
his agent or any peace officer.
Consequences of
Overgrazing
• Loss of desirable species.
• Loss of soil due to wind and water
erosion.
• Invasion of weeds.
Take Half
and
Leave Half
Adapted from NRCS, Bozeman, MT
Approximate Grazing Length and
Regrowth Periods
Season Grazing Length Regrowth Period
Spring 4 – 5 days 10 – 14 days
Summer 9 – 10 days 21 – 30 days
Late Summer 12 – 15 days 30 – 45 days
Loss of Topsoil
Weeds
How do Weeds Ensure Their
Success?
• They take advantage of the characteristics of
sites, including:
– exposed or disturbed soil (grading road
shoulders).
– turfgrass, range, pasture or groundcover
that is weakened by disease, pests, or
poor management.
– places where a desired species is not
well-adapted to its environment.
How do Weeds Ensure Their
Success?
• They are very competitive:
– grow well in spite of interference
from other plants.
• They are persistent:
– will return year after year.
– reproduce vigorously.
– spread seeds effectively.
How do Weeds Ensure Their
Success?
• They are harmful.
– can alter the site they grow in by
accumulating salts, changing water
table depths, increasing erosion,
increasing wildfire frequency, etc.
How do Weeds Spread?
• Natural means:
– wind
– water
– animals
nmaa-ryder.si.edu
pi.cdfa.ca.gov/weedinfo
How do Weeds Spread?
• Mechanical means:
– Irrigation
– Roadside shoulder work
– Construction/fill dirt
– Vehicles
– Tillage UNCE, Reno, NV
– Contaminated seed or
feed
– Livestock management
Downy Brome (Bromus tectorum L.)
Winter annual.
Smooth erect stem; visible
ligule with frayed margin.
Reproduces by seed (up to one
billion/acre).
Grass family (Poaceae).
Seeds are long and flat with an awn
as long as the seed.
Mature plants turn purple to brown
as they dry.
Increases fire frequency.
Field Bindweed
(Convolvulus arvensis)
www.pitkingov.com
Morningglory family
(Convolvulaceae).
Perennial.
Alternate, arrowhead-shaped leaves
on climbing stems.
Flowers are trumpet-shaped
and white to pinkish.
Reproduces by seeds which
remain viable for up to 50
years and rootstocks.
www.arapcsuext.org
Russian Thistle (Salsola iberica)
www.ag.ohio-state.edu
Goosefoot family (Chenopodiaceae).
Annual.
Bushy, ½ foot to 3 feet tall, with
many branches, red on stems.
Red or green flowers.
Reproduces by seed: seed spreads
as plants break off and tumble,
hence name “tumbleweed”.
Now what?
• Go home and inventory the weeds on your
property.
• Have the weeds identified.
• Why do you have a weed problem? What
can you change about the way you manage
your property that will decrease the weed
population?
• Develop and implement a plan.
Successful weed management
requires constant vigilance and
care on the part of the land
manager.
CSUCE
Other Impacts
Windbreaks:
Reducing Impact from Wind
Windbreaks
• Terminology:
– Windbreak can be 1 row or multiple
rows, can be manmade, or natural.
– Shelterbelt is a type of windbreak with
multiple rows of trees and shrubs.
– Living snowfence is another term for
a living windbreak.
Windbreaks
• Increase the value of your property.
• Decrease heating bills.
• Capture snow:
– Reduce drifting on roads.
– Increase soil moisture.
• Provide wildlife habitat.
Create a Windbreak
• Manmade windbreak:
–a quick fix that can help establish
the living windbreak.
• Living Windbreak:
–a great long term solution.
Rocky Mountain Forest &
Range Experiment Station
On a Smaller Scale
Choosing a Site
• Usually on the north and west property
lines to block prevailing winter winds.
• Usually straight lines.
• 40 feet from a county or state road.
General Layout
• Usually at least 3 rows .
• One species per row.
• Usually a deciduous shrub as the outside row.
Theory: they will grow more quickly and
begin acting as a windbreak for the
evergreens.
• One or two rows of evergreens.
• Another row of deciduous shrubs if there is
space.
Species Selection
• Well adapted to wind, extremes in
temperature, and drought.
• Well documented.
• Native or non-native.
• Wildlife habitat.
Species Information
• Laramie County Conservation District
has a lot of information, even if you
don’t buy plants from them.
• Internet: Nebraska, North Dakota, and
Canada research sites.
• “Growing Trees on the Great Plains”.
Purchasing
• Conservation District:
– Wide species variety.
– Very little size selection.
• Green Acres in LaGrange (Steve Williams).
– More selection (size & species) if
you order early.
• Fort Collins Nurseries:
• Fossil Creek.
Other Considerations
• Drip irrigation.
• Weed barrier.
• Till the soil or leave the soil intact and
dig holes.
• Mulch, and if so, with what?
Planting Day
• Call Before You Dig 800-849-2476.
• Plant as soon as possible, store cool
and damp until planting.
• Do not expose to sunlight or wind.
• Stretch a line to keep the row straight.
• Dig a $5.00 hole for a $0.50 tree.
• Water well.
Drip Irrigation for
Windbreaks
• Buy a soil moisture meter.
• Keep a written schedule.
• Run multiple lines for multiple rows of
trees and shrubs.
• Check emitters – make sure every plant
is getting water.
• Water frequently the first year.
More on Mulch
• Necessary to suppress the grass.
• Mulch can eliminate the need for weed
barrier.
• Rock or gravel is fine, until you have to mow.
• Alfalfa hay is good, but not grass hay.
• Sawdust or shavings create a mat, not
enough air or water gets through, burns up
available nitrogen.
• Bark or wood chips are very good.
Care and Feeding of Your
Windbreak
• Replace dead trees and shrubs within 1 year:
– Expect about 30% death loss.
– Want an even age windbreak.
• Mow between trees and between rows until
well established.
• Discourage ground varmints.
• Water in the winter.
• Consider using an anti transpirant in the
winter.
Small Mammal and Rodent
Damage
• Rabbits & hares.
• Prairie dogs.
• Pocket gophers.
• Ground squirrels.
• Mice.
Rabbits
• True rabbits include :
• Mountain Cottontail
(Sylvilagus nuttalli)
• Desert cottontail
(Sylvilagug audubonii),
• Pygmy rabbit
(Sylvilagus idahoensis)
About Rabbits
•Paired tracks commonly indicate cottontails
or jackrabbits.
•Prefer lots of cover.
•Cottontails leave pea-sized droppings.
•Damage is recognized by a sharp 45
degree cut on small twigs from a few
inches to 20 inches above ground.
•Common foods are garden vegetables,
flowers, and shrubs.
Hind Feet
Front Feet
Controls for Rabbits
•An 18-inch high fence can exclude
cottontails from small areas.
•On individual plants, use 1 square inch or
less of mesh.
•Remove brushy and weedy habitat.
•Most domestic dogs can discourage rabbits.
Hares
• Whitetail and blacktail
"jackrabbits" (Lepus
townsendii and L.
californicus) actually are
hares. Our only other
hare is the snowshoe
hare (L. americanus),
which lives in mountains
except the very driest
areas.
About Hares
•Do not hibernate.
•Prefer open range.
•Also have paired tracks.
•Droppings are small marble size.
•Nests are small depressions.
•Young are born with fur.
Controls for Hares
•24-inch high fence will exclude them
from small areas or individual
plants.
•Domestic dogs can discourage them.
•Do not mow, let pasture grasses be
tall.
Prairie Dogs
About Prairie Dogs
• Don’t hibernate.
• Are diurnal.
• Exist in dense colonies, create 30 to 50
6-inch burrows and mounds per acre.
• Bean-sized cylindrical droppings .
• Grasses and broad-leaved plants clipped at
one-inch height.
•Occasional bark stripping occurs on shrubs.
•Black widow spiders and rattlesnakes are
associated with colonies.
Controls for Prairie Dogs
• Some minor effects have been shown by placing
poles and other perch sites for large hawks and
barrier fences, hay bales and other obstacles that
prey upon prairie dogs.
• Proper grazing use--rotate livestock through pasture
systems, avoid season-long grazing but graze early
spring, place salt and water for livestock away from
prairie dog towns; exclude livestock for several
seasons post control of prairie dogs.
Pocket Gophers
About Pocket Gophers
• Don’t hibernate.
• Nocturnal and diurnal.
• Dinner plate-sized mounds with no entrance.
• Tracks and animal are almost never seen
above ground.
• Pocket gophers girdle growing trees and
shrubs at or near ground level. Trees up to
several inches in trunk diameter can be killed.
• A gopher can move up to two tons of soil each
year.
After the snow melts
The rest of the year
Pocket gopher damage
Controls for Pocket
Gophers
• Area flooding
• Domestic cats
• Owls
• Humans may take occasional gophers
during evening and night forays
• Fence buried at least 18 inches below the
soil surface.
Ground Squirrels
Ground Squirrels
Wyoming ground
squirrels
(Spermophilus
elegans)
About Ground Squirrels
• Do Hibernate.
• Aer Diurnal.
• Show no excavated earth around
opening.
Controls for Ground
Squirrels
• Exclude from small areas, encourage tall
vegetation (13-lined ground squirrel).
• Don't mow tall grasses, reduce seedbearing
weedy plants. Moist soils/overhead irrigation
during day. Prevent digging in seedling gardens
by planting cold-tolerant varieties before ground
squirrel emergence in early spring.
• 18-inch high 1/4 to 1/2-inch mesh hardware cloth
(hail screen)buried 6 inches below ground.
Mice
About Mice
• Don;t hibernate.
• Mostly nocturnal with some daytime activity.
• Mice may dig and feed on newly planted
crops.
• Occasionally and particularly during late
winter, mice gnaw or girdle small, woody
stems.
• Damage can be above or at ground level.
Controls for Mice
• Remove or mow weeds and
vegetation.
• Sanitation through clean-up of
grains or other attractants.
• Restrict water access.
The Best Control of All =
Balanced Ecosystem
Water Rights in Wyoming
Water Law in Wyoming
• Prior Appropriations Doctrine - First in
time (if permitted) is first in right - Allows
for regulation of water by setting up seniority of rights
system.
• Water rights that date to territorial time
(pre-Statehood).
• All water owned by State, use must be
permitted.
Surface Water
• Most old water rights are surface water -
surface water is easy to develop and easy to
administer?
• “Source” can be many miles from the area
where water is used - water crossing your
land is not free for your use, more than
likely it is already appropriated?
• Approximately 80 “hydrographers” administer
surface water rights in Wyoming. One
individual covers most of Laramie County.
Ground Water
• Domestic and stock wells limited to 25
gallons per minute by law.
• Domestic use is defined as water for
household use for 3 or less single family
dwellings and non commercial garden.
Landscape water of no more than 1 acre.
• Commercial uses (including greenhouses
or businesses growing for market) have
additional permitting requirements.
Ground Water
• Three ground water control areas have
been setup where use equals or exceeds
the ground water resource - currently deals
with high production wells, stock and
domestic; exempt from control area
advisory board review.
• Laramie County, Platte County, Prairie
Center Control Areas due to high water use
by agriculture.
Ground Water
• Domestic and stock watering are
preferred uses under State Statute, but
not in State Constitution. This gray area
will have to be decided by the courts
when conflict between users escalates.
• No mandatory well driller licensing
program, voluntary program adopted by
legislature in 2004.
Your Water Well
• Minimum well construction guidelines
– November 2004 State Engineer’s Office
• working on update to 1974 minimum construction
standards that are currently in place
• 20 feet from property line
• 100 feet from leach field
• must have surface seal to prevent contamination - 10 ft.
require by standards, few actually have seal installed.
– Proper Construction can be important in quality
and quantity of water produced (sand content,
water quality, longevity of well and pump
equipment).
More On Your Well
• You are not guaranteed a static water level or
artesian pressure.
• Obtaining a Ground Water Permit does not
guarantee that you will be able to construct a
“good” water well. Geology dictates what is or
is not available.
• Having the oldest house on the block does not
mean you have senior right. If you have a
well, you should verify the status of your water
right, especially if you plan to complain about
your neighbors.
For Additional Information Related to Water,
Water Rights, or Water Wells contact:
Wyoming State Engineer’s Office
General 307 777-7354
Ground Water 307 777-7730 or 6688
or visit http://seo.state.wy.us/
For basic water well information for well owners
see: National Ground Water Association (NGWA)
visit http://www.wellowner.org
Water Testing
• Bacterial (Coliform)
– City County Health Department
• Free
• Twice a year
• Water Quality
– Wyoming Department of Agriculture
• http://wyagric.state.wy.us/aslab/aslab.htm