ILLINOIS—At the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, you may find yourself sharing the trails with cows. Yes, cows! On National Agriculture Day, March 23, Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie hosted a virtual panel discussion to raise awareness that cows—as well as bison and row crops—are part of the plan to restore land where the Joliet Arsenal was active.

When the Illinois Land Conservation Act established Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie in 1996, four key objectives were identified, including agriculture, restoration, recreation, and research and education.

Agriculture is part of restoration at Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie in multiple ways. “Agriculture is essential to the restoration process, where volunteers, partners and staff are working to restore natural habitat for grassland birds, monarchs and a wide array of other native prairie pollinators,” said USDA Forest Service Supervisory Natural Resources Manager Mike Redmer. “The restoration process will involve at least 275 species of native Illinois pollinator plants, and cows, bison and row crops are helping prepare the land for planting.”

Visual monitoring is an important part of the process. During the program, Redmer talked about how findings from visual surveys and other monitoring assessments are informing scientists and specialists as they gauge and strategize next steps for continued restoration success.

Grazing also provides opportunity to accomplish habitat management objectives such as habitat maintenance for grassland birds and invasive species control. While ecological strides are being made, local farmers receive access to pastures to graze livestock—mostly black angus and red angus cattle herds. Grazing also assists in other objectives identified in the prairie’s plan, including bringing back a more pastoral appearance of rolling grass covered hills and valleys with occasional remnants of past cultural use.

Across approximately 3,500 acres, cattle graze in 11 allotments of land that are managed by five cattle farmers who hold permits. Some of the current permit holders have been grazing their cattle on the land since Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie was established in 1996. These 11 grazing allotments are designated for cow/calf pairs or yearlings with stocking rates varying per each allotment.

Livestock grazing is permitted under grazing permits that are renewable every five years. The annual grazing season is from April 1 to Nov. 1 for the duration of the permit.

Bison are also helping restore land with their grazing. In 2015, 27 bison (four bulls and 23 cows) were introduced to the prairie to continue the restoration process with a species that is known to have historically resided in prairie habitat. The bison, and the distinct grazing patterns for which they are known, are key to the experiment. Researchers, volunteers, partners and staff are monitoring to see how bison grazing and other natural behaviors impact species that reside in a prairie ecosystem during active restoration. Researchers are looking at the natural behaviors of the bison, for example, the way they graze and the wallows they make, which they normally would not have during active restoration.

Row crops are assisting with restoration by creating a fresh palate for planting native pollinators. In one example, years ago, the Forest Service planted soybeans in a 464-acre area on the west side of Highway 53 to prepare the land so that partners could plant native pollinator plants in what is now the South Patrol Road Prairie Restoration Area. As of today, nearly 200 species of native pollinator plants have been planted here. Currently five farmers grow crops of soybeans, wheat and corn across 3,700 acres at Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie.