New 15-acre prairie is growing in Columbia nature sanctuary

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- After years of preparation, a 15-acre prairie is beginning to sprout at the Columbia Audubon Nature Sanctuary in west Columbia.

About six acres of the prairie are on Columbia Audubon Society property, and the other nine are in the Bonnie View Nature Sanctuary, a Columbia city park. Work to kill non-native vegetation began several years ago, and the prairie was seeded in January, with hopes the new grasses and flowers will be in full bloom in two years.

Before this year, the land had been used mostly for cattle grazing. It held tall fescue, a grass that doesn't produce seeds or provide food for bugs such as caterpillars or butterflies. Birds also have little to eat on land that has no pollinators.

"So while it might be fine for cows, it isn't good for wildlife," said Bill Mees, former president of the Columbia Audubon Society.

It's important at this stage to control non-native plants, such as ragweed, so they don't smother native plants that are trying to put down roots.

The site will have prairie grass and flower seeds, purchased or collected with volunteer help, from dozens of species that include blazing stars, milkweeds and wild indigos. Dozens of bags of seeds, comparable in size to large bags of dog food, were poured into a tractor hopper and slung onto the snow-dusted field in January.

A Missouri Bird Conservation Initiative report said volunteers worked on the property for more than 110 hours in 2014 and more than 220 hours in 2015. The restoration was financed with an $11,300 grant from the Missouri Bird Conservation Initiative and an anonymous $10,000 donation.

Allison Vaughn, a Columbia Audubon Society member, said most people don't realize the work it takes to restore a prairie.

"Timing is really important when you plant seeds, because you really want to do it when there's snow and the ground is heaving -- thawing, then melting -- so those seeds end up getting deeper and deeper so they can actually germinate," she said.

The Columbia Audubon Society, which partners with Columbia Public Schools, plans to use the prairie to further education about the dynamics of prairies and the importance of pollinators.

Humans depend on hundreds of species of bees and other insects to pollinate food crops and other plants.

For now, the site will host field trips and the Audubon Society will take care of the plants.

"We're kind of like farmers," Mees said. "We planted, and now we pray and wait."