A movement is taking root in Gentry to save a parcel of natural prairie land.
To some it may appear as an undeveloped plot of ground behind the post office - adjacent to the Gentry City Park - but to others it’s a rare section of natural tall grass prairie that should be preserved because of the plants and animals which grow and live there.
Theo Witsell, a botanist with the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission, said “99.9 percent” of the native prairie in Northwest Arkansas has been destroyed.
Before the region was settled, Witsell said, Washington and Benton counties had acres of “treeless grassland similar to the Great Plains, tallgrass prairies dominated by a number of species of tall grasses and hundreds of species of wildflowers.”
“The biggest ones were around Rogers, Fayetteville, Siloam Springs, Gentry and Maysville, and there were numerous smaller ones scattered around,” he said.
As Witsell explained it, in between those prairies were open savannas with scattered trees giving way to forests along the rivers. The land was populated by bison, elk, prairie chickens and “all kinds of native prairie fauna, way back.”
The land was also the first to be developed because it didn’t require clearing. Only tiny remnants of unspoiled prairie are left, Witsell said, and that makes the acreage in Gentry “of high conservation value.”
Chief among the native plants which conservationists in Gentry hope to preserve is the liatris spicata, a perennial plant better known as wild blazing star, with purple flower clusters that attract a variety of butterflies and moths and are a food source for hummingbirds. The approximately 8.5 acres of prairie land is also home to a wide variety of native wildflowers and plants, as well as a host of insects,birds and other small animals.
Because of city mowing regulations, the last time the blazing star was allowed to bloom was in 2009. Fears voiced by supporters of the movement to save the small portion of natural prairie is that continual mowing could kill off the native wildflowers and plants.
The Gentry City Council, at its May meeting, voted to allow the land to remain unmowed - at least through mid-summer - except for rights of way along the highway and J.R. Bever Boulevard, a cul-de-sac street which bisects the land. However, a good number of native plant species also grow in those rights of way.
The southern portion of the land includes natural prairie which has never been plowed, Witsell said.
“My vision for the site is to somehow find a way to purchase the site from (its owner, Randy Bever) and get it in the hands of the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission,” said Terry Stanfi ll, area naturalist and caretaker for the Eagle Watch Nature Area west of Gentry. “Let them manage it as a natural area. It could be open to the public as an extension of the City Park and could be used as an educational tool for the schools, which are within walking distance.”
“The liatris would be a tourist attraction when blooming, and this quickly disappearing prairie remnant could be saved for a very good cause,” Stanfill added.
The challenge, according to Stanfill, is finding a way to purchase the property.
Working with Stanfill and other botanists and nature lovers to raise awareness is Tom McClure, a college biology instructor interested in saving the natural prairie for the sake of preserving native plants and animals and for educational purposes.
McClure called the small remnant of natural prairie a valuable asset to the city of Gentry if it can be preserved.
“It’s an ongoing educational resource,” McClure said. “It’s attached to the city park and within walking distance of downtown and the schools.”
McClure said the land could give teachers and students the opportunity to study native prairie land, its soils, plants and animals - and all close by. He said the area could attract visitors to Gentry because of the easy access to view native prairie plants and animals. He also spoke of the land as a valuable norm to be used to study how surrounding lands have changed through development and agricultural use.
Though the northern portion of the land was at one time cleared, the prairie is coming back there and could be restored, McClure said,suggesting that students might be able to help in the restoration process.
Work i s under way to raise money to have the land appraised, McClure said. After that is done, he hopes a price can be set and interested individuals and organizations might be found to help purchase the area and preserve it as a natural prairie.
The Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission has not yet been approached, according to Witsell, but could consider stewardship of the land in the future. Studies of the land and its inhabitants would be required, he said, before a state approval process.
“The only way to move forward is to gather up the people who really care about the prairie - and there are people up here who do,” said Tim Snell, associate state director of the Nature Conservancy of Arkansas. “It’s part of their heritage.”
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BECCA MARTIN-BROWN, NWA MEDIA FEATURES EDITOR, CONTRIBUTED TO THIS REPORT.
Life, Pages 6 on 06/26/2013