Forest Prairie Edge

Forest Prairie Edge PDF Author: Merle Massie
Publisher: Univ. of Manitoba Press
ISBN: 0887554547
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 547

Get Book Here

Book Description
Saskatchewan is the anchor and epitome of the ‘prairie’ provinces, even though half of the province is covered by boreal forest. The Canadian penchant for dividing this vast country into easily-understood ‘regions’ has reduced the Saskatchewan identity to its southern prairie denominator and has distorted cultural and historical interpretations to favor the prairie south. Forest Prairie Edge is a deep-time investigation of the edge land, or ecotone, between the open prairies and boreal forest region of Saskatchewan. Ecotones are transitions from one landscape to another, where social, economic, and cultural practices of different landscapes are blended. Using place history and edge theory, Massie considers the role and importance of the edge ecotone in building a diverse social and economic past that contradicts traditional “prairie” narratives around settlement, economic development, and culture. She offers a refreshing new perspective that overturns long-held assumptions of the prairies and the Canadian west.

Forest Prairie Edge

Forest Prairie Edge PDF Author: Merle Massie
Publisher: Univ. of Manitoba Press
ISBN: 0887554547
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 547

Get Book Here

Book Description
Saskatchewan is the anchor and epitome of the ‘prairie’ provinces, even though half of the province is covered by boreal forest. The Canadian penchant for dividing this vast country into easily-understood ‘regions’ has reduced the Saskatchewan identity to its southern prairie denominator and has distorted cultural and historical interpretations to favor the prairie south. Forest Prairie Edge is a deep-time investigation of the edge land, or ecotone, between the open prairies and boreal forest region of Saskatchewan. Ecotones are transitions from one landscape to another, where social, economic, and cultural practices of different landscapes are blended. Using place history and edge theory, Massie considers the role and importance of the edge ecotone in building a diverse social and economic past that contradicts traditional “prairie” narratives around settlement, economic development, and culture. She offers a refreshing new perspective that overturns long-held assumptions of the prairies and the Canadian west.

Prairie, Lake, Forest

Prairie, Lake, Forest PDF Author: Chris Niskanen
Publisher: Minnesota Historical Society
ISBN: 9780873517713
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 232

Get Book Here

Book Description
Waterfalls and underground caverns, lady's slippers and dwarf trout lilies, cross-country skiing and fishing adventures--alluring photographs and captivating stories survey these and other delights of Minnesota's popular state parks.

Prairie Habitats

Prairie Habitats PDF Author: Mirella S. Miller
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781623239886
Category : Prairie ecology
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
Discusses the ecology of the prairie, including where the world's prairies are, some of the plants and animals found in prairies, and threats to the prairie.

A New Garden Ethic

A New Garden Ethic PDF Author: Benjamin Vogt
Publisher: New Society Publishers
ISBN: 1771422459
Category : Gardening
Languages : en
Pages : 217

Get Book Here

Book Description
In a time of climate change and mass extinction, how we garden matters more than ever: “An outstanding and deeply passionate book.” —Marc Bekoff, author of The Emotional Lives of Animals Plenty of books tell home gardeners and professional landscape designers how to garden sustainably, what plants to use, and what resources to explore. Yet few examine why our urban wildlife gardens matter so much—not just for ourselves, but for the larger human and animal communities. Our landscapes push aside wildlife and in turn diminish our genetically programmed love for wildness. How can we get ourselves back into balance through gardens, to speak life's language and learn from other species? Benjamin Vogt addresses why we need a new garden ethic, and why we urgently need wildness in our daily lives—lives sequestered in buildings surrounded by monocultures of lawn and concrete that significantly harm our physical and mental health. He examines the psychological issues around climate change and mass extinction as a way to understand how we are short-circuiting our response to global crises, especially by not growing native plants in our gardens. Simply put, environmentalism is not political; it's social justice for all species marginalized today and for those facing extinction tomorrow. By thinking deeply and honestly about our built landscapes, we can create a compassionate activism that connects us more profoundly to nature and to one another.

Tending the Valley

Tending the Valley PDF Author: Alice D'Alessio
Publisher: Wisconsin Historical Society Press
ISBN: 0870209507
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 142

Get Book Here

Book Description
On a gray and drizzly day in 1983, writer Alice D’Alessio and her math professor husband, Laird, made their way down a curving, tree-lined driveway on their way to a picnic. They were visiting 110 acres of land in Wisconsin’s unglaciated Driftless Area that Laird had inherited from his parents. Emerging from the trees, Alice had her first glimpse of the valley that would become a twenty-five-year labor of love for the couple. In Tending the Valley, Alice chronicles their efforts to return the land to its natural prairie state and to manage their oak and pine woods. Along the way they joined the land restoration movement, became involved in a number of stewardship groups, and discovered the depths of dedication and toil required to bring their dream to fruition. With hard-earned experience and the evocative language of a poet, D’Alessio shares her personal triumphs and setbacks as a prairie steward, along with a profound love for the land and respect for the natural history of the Driftless.

The Prairie Peninsula

The Prairie Peninsula PDF Author: Gary Meszaros
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781606353202
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
The prairie grassland biome covers the heartland of North America with an eastward extension called the Prairie Peninsula. Primarily composed of tallgrass prairie, this biome lies between the shortgrass prairies of the west and the eastern deciduous forest region and includes the states of Illinois, Indiana, southeastern Wisconsin, and Ohio. With text by coauthors Gary Meszaros and Guy L. Denny and striking photographs by Meszaros, The Prairie Peninsula examines the many prairie types, floristic composition, and animals that are part of this ecosystem. It took only 50 years for 150 million acres of tallgrass prairie to disappear under the steel plow, transforming the Prairie Peninsula into fields of corn and wheat. Today, only a few thousand acres of this endangered ecosystem remain in small parcels, some just a few acres each. The second half of the 19th century brought the mass slaughter of prairie wildlife. By 1900, like the prairie they roamed, the plains bison, gray wolf, and eastern elk became extirpated east of the Mississippi River. The Prairie Peninsula also tells the story of the early settlers and the hardships they endured. Thousands died of milk sickness and malaria, with prairie fires sending flames 30 feet into the air and stretched across the horizon, destroying everything in their path. Today, many of these pioneers lie buried in cemeteries comprising prairie remnants, fragments of the primeval land they tried to tame. The authors investigate these and other surviving prairie remnants and current efforts to save these traces of original North American grassland. Both Gary Meszaros and Guy L. Denny have traveled extensively throughout the Midwest, studying the animal and floristic composition of original prairie remnants.

The Ecology and Management of Prairies in the Central United States

The Ecology and Management of Prairies in the Central United States PDF Author: Chris Helzer
Publisher: University of Iowa Press
ISBN: 1587299313
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 234

Get Book Here

Book Description
Most prairies exist today as fragmented landscapes, making thoughtful and vigilant management ever more important. Intended for landowners and managers dedicated to understanding and nurturing their prairies as well as farmers, ranchers, conservationists, and all those with a strong interest in grasslands, ecologist Chris Helzer’s readable and practical manual educates prairie owners and managers about grassland ecology and gives them guidelines for keeping prairies diverse, vigorous, and viable. Chapters in the first section, "Prairie Ecology," describe prairie plants and the communities they live in, the ways in which disturbance modifies plant communities, the animal and plant inhabitants that are key to prairie survival, and the importance of diversity within plant and animal communities. Chapters in the second section, "Prairie Management," explore the adaptive management process as well as guiding principles for designing management strategies, examples of successful management systems such as fire and grazing, guidance for dealing with birds and other species that have particular habitat requirements and with the invasive species that have become the most serious threat that prairie managers have to deal with, and general techniques for prairie restoration. Following the conclusion and a forward-thinking note on climate change, eight appendixes provide more information on grazing, prescribed fire, and invasive species as well as bibliographic notes, references, and national and state organizations with expertise in prairie management. Grasslands can be found throughout much of North America, and the ideas and strategies in this book apply to most of them, particularly tallgrass and mixed-grass prairies in eastern North Dakota, eastern South Dakota, eastern Nebraska, eastern Kansas, eastern Oklahoma, northwestern Missouri, northern Illinois, northwestern Indiana, Iowa, southwestern Wisconsin, and southwestern Minnesota. By presenting all the factors that promote biological diversity and thus enhance prairie communities, then incorporating these factors into a set of clear-sighted management practices, The Ecology and Management of Prairies in the Central United States presents the tools necessary to ensure that grasslands are managed in the purposeful ways essential to the continued health and survival of prairie communities.

Forest, Lake, and Prairie

Forest, Lake, and Prairie PDF Author: John McDougall
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Frontier and pioneer life
Languages : en
Pages : 278

Get Book Here

Book Description


Prairie Conservation

Prairie Conservation PDF Author: Fred B. Samson
Publisher: Island Press
ISBN: 9781610913942
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 358

Get Book Here

Book Description
The area of native prairie known as the Great Plains once extended from Canada to the Mexican border and from the foothills of the Rocky Mountains to western Indiana and Wisconsin. Today the declines in prairie landscape types, estimated to be as high as 99%, exceed those of any other major ecosystem in North America. The overwhelming loss of landscape and accompanying loss of species constitute a real threat to both ecological and human economic health.Prairie Conservation is a comprehensive examination of the history, ecology, and current status of North American grasslands. It presents for the first time in a single volume information on the historical, economic, and cultural significance of prairies, their natural history and ecology, threats, and conservation and restoration programs currently underway. Chapters cover: environmental history of the Great Plains the economic value of prairie prairie types -- tallgrass, mixed grass, shortgrass, wetlands -- and the ecological processes that sustain each type prairie fauna -- invertebrates, fish and other aquatic creatures, amphibians and reptiles, birds, and mammals conservation programs such as the Great Plains Partnership, Canada's Prairie Conservation Action Plan, the U.S. Prairie Pothole Joint Venture, and others The book brings together knowledge and insights from a wide range of experts to describe and explain the importance of prairies and to position them in the forefront of North American conservation efforts. Praire Conservation is an essential reference for anyone interested in prairie ecology and conservation and will play a critical role in broadening our awareness and understanding of prairie ecosystems.

From Prairies to Peaks

From Prairies to Peaks PDF Author: Anthony Godfrey
Publisher: Forest Service
ISBN: 9780160914126
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 425

Get Book Here

Book Description