June 6 - National Prairie Day

Happy National Prairie Day! On the first Saturday of June, we recognize one of the richest ecosystems on the face of the earth. In North America, the prairies are at the heart of the continent. 

A wide swath of central North America comprises flat grassland running from the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan down to Texas.  

Prairies provide homes to a wide variety of wildlife including prairie dogs, prairie chickens, buffalo, bison, elk, deer, rabbits, hawks, and foxes. They are also home to diverse native prairie plantings offering year-round food, shelter, and nesting grounds for habitat. 

What took thousands of years to form approximately 170 million acres has been reduced in the last one hundred and fifty years to one percent of habitat. 

Where once a vast and un-numbered variety of species thrived, the fertile soil now produces bumper crops of wheat, sorghum, flax, rye, and oats. 

The result is the loss of complex established ecosystems that once supported precious native birds, pollinators, insects, and other native wildlife. Habitat loss contributes to extinctions.  

However, what remains is still teeming with diverse flora and fauna species. Many of these species are endangered of becoming extinct and some still yet to be discovered and identified.  

Amazingly, original tracts of undisturbed prairie serve as living ecological and native American cultural research stations. 

These models of precious ecosystems with genetic resources continue to be studied, their ecological worth, and economic benefits yet to be realized. 

Opportunity 

National Prairie Day creates a chance to educate the public about preservation, conservation, and restoration opportunities as well as the history, wildlife, and habitats of the prairie.  

Understanding the prairie means looking beyond what often initially appears simple and learning about each form of life that thrives within it. 

It means comprehending complex systems we can learn from and ensuring our future. The natural beauty of prairies can be breathtaking as well.  

Today’s “amber waves of grain” were created from the fertile soil of these oceans of grasslands that were once tall enough to hide a man on horseback. 

Prairies inspired the paintings of Harvey Dunn in South Dakota, poetry from Walt Whitman, and books from authors such as Laura Ingalls Wilder in Missouri. 

Measurable Interrelated Benefits of Prairie Include:  

Water Quality and Quantity Protection:

• 
  

  • prairie can absorb up to seven inches of rain without runoff

• • prairie plants are adapted to drought, like having drought  insurance

• • watershed protection 

• • increase water infiltration and water yield, increase water  supply by reducing erosion and reservoir sedimentation 

• • increase water quality due to the lack of fertilizer, pesticide,  and herbicide use 

• • stormwater management prairie acts as a sponge that curbs soil  erosion and flooding 

Soil Quality and Quantity Protection: 

• • prairie soil microbes can also reduce the amount of synthetic chemicals used in agriculture 

• • root systems of native prairie grasses firmly hold  soil in place to prevent soil run-off 

• • one acre of prairie can store well over one ton of carbon per acre per year 

• • native prairie plants with roots up to fifteen feet deep act as a sponge, absorbing up to seven inches of rain without flooding 

Birds, Native Pollinators, and Wildlife Protection: 

• • native bees are found to be 40 times more efficient pollinators than honey bees 

• • pollinator services for adjacent farms provided by native pollinators 

• • migratory waterfowl, shorebirds, waterbirds and songbirds 

• • animals adapted to wide open spaces with few trees 

Energy Independence via Biofuels: 

• • prairie biomass can be harvested for renewable energy, creating natural gas 

North American Cultural and Natural Heritage Conservation: 

• • primitive skills education 

• • Native American history 

• • homesteading

Plant Biodiversity Protection: 

• • management by grazing fire disturbance 

• • prairie plantings can be considered a form of drought insurance as they are adapted to drought, grazing, and fire 

• • forbs (native wildflowers) are of particular importance as food sources for native insects and wildlife 

• • endangered plant species have yet to be studied for their medicinal potential 

• • natural seed stores and propagation of endangered species 

HOW TO OBSERVE 

  

Learn about prairies by participating in a Prairie BioBlitz. Other ways to celebrate the day include: 

• • visiting public prairies 

• • supporting local, state, and national organizations that are committed to prairie education, conservation, and restoration 

• • create your own prairie garden at home to see how it changes through the seasons 

You can also learn more about prairies by visiting the websites below: 

https://www.theprairieenthusiasts.org/references.htm 
https://www.rairieecologist.com 
https://ww.landinstitute.org 
https:/ww.americanprairie.org 
https://www.theprairieenthusiasts.org 
https://www.nps.gov/tapr/learn/nature/a-complex-prairie-ecosystem.htm 

Use #NationalPrairieDay to post on social media. 

HISTORY 

In 2015, Christine Chiu of the Missouri Prairie Foundation founded National Prairie Day to educate the public about the vital ecosystem and increase prairie education, conservation, and restoration.  

The Registrar at National Day Calendar® proclaimed National Prairie Day to be observed annually on the first Saturday in June. 

#NationalPrairieDay 

@littlehouseontheprairieforever 

@littlehouseontheprairie 

@HalfPintIngalls 

@LIWLegacy 

@TheLandInstitue 

@americanprairie 

@NPS.TallgrassPrairie 

@christine_chiu88 

@nbc 

@nichecinema 

DATES 

June 05, 2021 
June 04, 2022 
June 03, 2023 
June 01, 2024 
June 07, 2025 
June 06, 2026 
June 05, 2027 
June 03, 2028 
June 02, 2029