Dennis Plank and Gail Trotter have dedicated their lives to the restoration of lowland prairie ecosystems in the Pacific Northwest, which is known more for its majestic old growth forests and iconic salmon runs.
The lowlands of the Chehalis River Basin has some of the rarest ecosystems in the country — open, grassy and wildflower prairie savannas created 15,000 years ago by retreating glaciers.
According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, these “fertile landscapes supplemented by glacial till, became a hotbed of ecological activity as dozens of species of insects, plants, mammals and reptiles migrated to open grasslands.”
And for thousands of years, Native people used fire to sustain these prairie lands and harvested the bounty of wildflowers, bulbs and wildlife for food and medicine.
Much of our state’s prairie lands have been lost over the last couple of centuries due to a range of land use activities and fire suppression. Today, only about 2% of the areas’ original prairie habitat remains.
In the Chehalis Basin, energetic and committed volunteer conservationists have been diligently collaborating with scientists to help preserve, restore and maintain unique prairie lands.
Two of these enthusiastic volunteers are Plank and Trotter. They have spent thousands of hours over 20-plus years in the protection and restoration of prairie lands.
Trotter, originally from the Seattle area, volunteered with the U.S. Forest Service, the Washington Native Plant Society and the Nature Conservancy starting in the mid-1990s. Trotter said she was “hooked” and found herself spending her free time all over Washington state volunteering with the Nature Conservancy.
She discovered that Scotch broom pulls happened every second Saturday of the month at the Glacial Heritage Preserve (GHP) near Littlerock.
“I drove down to Littlerock and GHP on and off for 15 years before I retired,” she said. “When I retired, I decided on Thurston County as my new home and have been volunteering weekly for years ... This ecosystem is a special place! I love that the consistency of my volunteerism has allowed me to see and know its changes.”
In the fall of 1998, Plank was out with his hiking group, and a friend told him about the volunteer efforts happening at Glacial Heritage Preserve.
“I grew up with a love of plants and gardening,” said Plank, who began coming to the GHP to pull Scotch broom. “I fell in love with the prairies. That first spring seeing the wildflowers was really neat.”
And while volunteering, Plank met and married another fellow volunteer and now lives on prairie land near GHP.
Scotch broom is an introduced plant that forms dense mats and crowds out native plants and their habitat while reducing forage for elk, deer and other wildlife. It is also an “allopathic plant,” which means that it sends out chemicals to out-compete other plants. Because of its effect on other species, humans have been working to remove Scotch broom to restore ecosystems. It must be removed before it goes to seed as one plant can have up to 10,000 seeds. Its seeds can be viable in the soil for up to 50 years.
“When Dennis and I first started to help remove the invasive Scotch broom here, there were fields and fields of Scotch broom taller than us,” Trotter said.
“Even though it’s hard, and I’m not athletic — I got one more weed,” Plank added. “The challenge is so worth it, seeing the value of my efforts, noticing the change over time, and helping to return biodiversity to the prairie. Most of the weed pulling was done by volunteers while a small staff mowed the rest to keep it from setting more seed."
All of the volunteer restoration work, like that of Trotter and Plank, has paid off.
GHP is now a thriving prairie oak ecosystem. Its native short-grass prairie is abundant with birds, mammals, including elk, camas and other wildflowers, and insects. Trotter has seen elk on all four corners of the prairie. This biodiversity also adds value to human lives as local tribes have intertribal gatherings and are again able to harvest camas bulbs for food and for gifting.
The result of the work of volunteers and staff removing invasive Scotch broom and other non-native species, controlled burns, the limited use of herbicides and the planting of native species.
“When I first started volunteering,” Plank said, “Glacial Heritage Preserve had large patches of mature Scotch broom, and now the entire preserve (about 700 acres of formerly infested area) can be controlled by hand pulling alone.”
“I just feel awe,” Trotter said.
“There is also a direct connection between the health of the prairie and the health of the adjacent Black River,” Plank said. “We have osprey coming back to nest and feed their young here on the prairie. The osprey collects fish from the river to feed their young and rear their young here. From the prairies point of view, it is all one big ecosystem — and keeping prairies healthy affects water quality.”
“At the beginning of our volunteering,” Plank added, “there were just three western meadowlark male birds singing out on the GHP prairie, and now there are eight to 10 male birds singing here and are spreading to Mima Mound prairies. They are coming back consistently and staying around. Some western meadowlarks even took baths last year in my nearby pond.”
Trotter, with a smile on her face, said, “It is a joy to be out pulling weeds and hear meadowlarks sing.”
Many say that their songs are some of the sweetest songs to hear in nature. Male western meadowlarks have a complex, two-phrase “primary” song that begins with one to six pure whistles and descends to a series of one to five gurgling warbles and may have a repertoire of up to a dozen songs. Here’s a link their song: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Western_Meadowlark/sounds
Plank and Trotter, alongside numerous volunteers and restoration scientists, have also helped to reestablish the once endangered and vital prairie flower, the golden paintbrush.
Once, one of only 13 known populations of golden paintbrushes was in South Sound prairies. Now there are 48. Prairie volunteers have helped to collect, clean and propagate the once endangered plants.
“Our South Sound prairies now have the largest population of golden paintbrush in the world,” said South Puget Sound Restoration Manager Sanders Freed with the Center for Natural Lands Management.
Research scientists have discovered that several species, including the rare Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly, lay eggs on golden paintbrush, and its larvae use the plant as a food source.
“It is so fascinating how much we have learned from the scientists doing research out on the prairie, from the restoration crews, the folks collecting seeds. It all adds to the whole story of what it takes for things to thrive,” Plank said.
In 2004, the Friends of Puget Prairies was created to have a parent organization for Prairie Appreciation Day. Open to the public just one day a year, Prairie Appreciation Day is an opportunity for the public to enjoy the flowers of native Washington prairies. Visitors are also encouraged to join and participate in Prairie Appreciation Day’s iNaturalist Project.
Prairie Appreciation Day happens each year on the second Saturday in May.
This year, the 30th Prairie Appreciation Day will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 10.
For more information, visit www.prairieappreciationday.org.
Today, the Center for Natural Lands Management manages 1,000-plus acres at the GHP and, with staff and volunteers, has conducted restoration of the site since 2011. The preserve provides refuge for threatened or endangered species and protects rare and sensitive habitat. GHP is owned by Thurston County and the Washington state Department of Fish and Wildlife.
CNLM also has a Native Seed Nursery near GHP. These seeds enhance rare habitat types and contribute towards the recovery of rare and endangered species that depend upon these habitats.
The Center for Natural Lands Management and the Friends of Puget Prairies welcomes volunteers to assist in a variety of tasks, including removing invasive species, monitoring native plants, collecting and spreading seeds, and participating in Prairie Appreciation Day. Nursery volunteers assist in wild seed collection, weeding raised beds, planting and seeding plugs, harvesting seed, and participating in native plant workshops. Learn more at https://www.cnlm.org/native-seed-nursery.
To learn more or to volunteer on the Glacial Heritage Preserve prairie, email ssvolunteers@cnlm.org
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This publication is part of the Chehalis Basin Collaborative for Salmon Habitat “Watershed Hero” series to celebrate the work of Chehalis Basin residents for their restoration of native ecosystems that salmon and other wildlife species depend on. To learn how you can be involved in projects that support salmon recovery, visit www.chehalisleadentity.org or contact Watershed Coordinator Kirsten Harma at 360-488-3232.
