Prairie Restoration

     Prairie restoration is a conservation effort to restore prairie lands that were destroyed due to industrial, agricultural, commercial, or residential development. The primary aim is to return areas and ecosystems to their previous state before their depletion. 

       The North American prairie is one of the world’s most endangered ecosystems. Some 99% of the original prairies have been turned over to agriculture, with short grass prairies in the West retaining more of their original range than mixed grass and tallgrass prairies. Illinois, still known as the Prairie State, retains less than .01% of its tallgrass ecosystem. Still, even small restorations provide valuable wildlife habitat as well as so-called ecosystem services.