Wisconsin Prairies

Wisconsin Prairies. . These are a few of the twenty-five species of grasses and over 250 species of wildflowers that might be found in a native prairie plant community. Imagine what miles and miles of uninterrupted prairie would look like. Early explorers in Wisconsin described immense prairies stretching in every direction as far as the eye could see, grasses so tall that "a man is lost amongst it," and elk in herds of four or five hundred animals. These vast prairies were compared to oceans, with the topographic undulations and the tall grasses blowing in the breeze likened to rolling waves "stretching away until sky and meadow mingle in the distant horizon."

Prairies originally covered about 2 million of Wisconsin's 35.7 million acres. Over 7 million more acres were covered by savanna, a prairie-like community with widely scattered trees, most likely oaks. Today, less than 1/10 of one percent of Wisconsin's original prairie remains. Tallgrass prairie (the type of prairie found in Wisconsin) and oak savanna are now the most decimated and threatened plant communities in the Midwest and among the most decimated in the world. Look for prairie remnants on steep hillsides and along rural roadsides, especially between roadway and railroad tracks.