Established in the late 80s as an agricultural experiment in warm season grass pasturage. The English explorers adopted the word prairie, having no other name for this unique natural ecosystem. Prairies are different from a meadow or field that you might find growing on a farm or park or vacant lot. To experience a prairie is to encounter a special world unlike any other. Tall grasses reach for the sky, colorful wildflowers wave in the breeze, and animals of all description find refuge there.
Most people are surprised to learn that prairies are a native ecosystem to Ohio.
The thought that prairies grow only out west has probably been promoted by novels, movies and television programs. Ohio's prairies are referred to as tallgrass prairies. Plenty of moisture in Ohio allows several kinds of grasses, such as big bluestem and Indian grass, to grow up to 9 feet tall. Prairies are an exciting part of the original landscape of Ohio. When the first settlers from the east moved into Ohio in the late 1700s they encountered over 300 prairies that ranged in size from several acres to many square miles.