Little Bluestem Meadow Walk: The Ecology of an Ice Age Relic

Spend an hour investigating the plants and animals that populate Innisfree's little bluestem meadow, and the natural history of this ancient ecosystem. Little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) is a grass native throughout almost all of the United States, as well as Southern Canada and Central Mexico. It provides cover for birds and small mammals, supports pollinators, requires little water, helps prevent erosion, and sequesters carbon. Grasslands like this supported wooly mammoths during the last ice age, and, as the dominant species in Midwestern tall grass prairies, little bluestem was the primary food source for the vast herds of bison that once