Restoring Gladstone Savanna

In 2014, restoration of Gladstone Savanna to its pre-settlement open grassland began in earnest through brush and selected tree removal, capping parts of the site with two to three feet of soil to reduce the effects of industrial contamination, and seeding three different mixes of prairie plants after existing vegetation was killed with herbicide. Plant communities vary by soil type and shade, with the savanna's sandy soils supporting short-grass prairie species such as blue grama, while taller grasses such as big bluestem grow near the western edge, alongside wildflowers, shrubs such as hazelnut, and bur oaks. Native prairie wildflowers provide food for butterflies, bees, birds, and other animals, bloom from April into fall, and include prairie phlox, coreopsis, blazing star, and goldenrod at different seasons. Before restoration, a few patches of native prairie grasses and flowers survived, and those not affected by soil remediation and trail installation were protected; today these prairie remnants thrive and offer clues to an earlier landscape. Species such as little bluestem, with roots reaching five to seven feet underground, and leadplant, known also as shoestring, reflect the deep-rooted prairie system that helped create rich Midwestern soils as roots decomposed year after year.

Maplewood, Minnesota · United States