The North American tallgrass prairie once covered more than 400,000 square miles of land, stretching from Texas to Manitoba. During the past 150 years, most of the native prairie has been removed through activities associated with agriculture and development.
Today there are only small pockets of the true prairie remaining.
Good quality prairie of any size has become very rare and should be protected and managed to insure its maximum health and stability. Thomas Lake Native Prairie is an example of one of the remaining remnant prairies in our area. This 19-acre prairie site has been managed for the past twenty years with the objective of restoring the land to its original prairie quality. With the assistance of professional prairie consultants, a management plan has been developed that involves prescribed burning, removal of unwanted plant species, and overseeding of native prairie plants. Before the prairies were converted to farmland, great fires sparked by lightning or by Native American hunting parties would sweep across the landscape, hindered only by the occasional river or lake.