An ongoing restoration effort begun in 1939 has worked to undo the effects of 76 years of farming by restoring agricultural fields at Homestead National Monument of America to a diverse collection of native plant species representing the vegetation first homesteaders encountered. Prairie ecosystems once spanned 140,000,000 acres, but today less than one percent remains. Restoration and research there help people understand and manage these vanishing environments, reflecting an early goal expressed in 1938 by Adolph Murie to restore prominent spring, summer, and fall flowers that had given some cheer to the first settlers.