In September, the hands-on process of restoring tallgrass prairie began on the recently acquired parcel at Spring Creek Prairie, located on the north end of the property. Over the coming months, visitors may notice significant changes to the landscape as invasive trees – among them Eastern red cedar – and noxious plant species are removed and dilapidated grazing infrastructure is removed. Through this effort, we aim to restore approximately 300 acres of native tallgrass prairie. By removing barriers such as fences and trees, the parcel will be connected to our core habitat. This in turn will support grassland bird populations along with the many other species that depend on this ecosystem. Approximately two percent of historical tallgrass prairie and four percent of all North American grasslands remain today — contributing to a forty-three percent decline in grassland bird populations. Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center remains one of the largest tracts of unbroken native tallgrass prairie in southeast Nebraska, and we are committed to preserve this rare piece of ground for the birds, other wildlife, and plants that thrive in healthy tallgrass prairie.

To complement this habitat restoration, SCPAC also hosted a prescribed fire workshop in partnership with Pheasants Forever and the City of Lincoln Parks and Recreation burn crews. More than 60 landowners and conservation partners attended the training, which covered developing burn plans, understanding essential equipment and safety protocols, and observing a prescribed burn in action. Our team at Spring Creek Prairie continues to provide interpretation on-site regarding prescribed fire training, grazing, haying, and other habitat management techniques. We regularly highlights these land management best practices in regular social media posts and other communications.