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Tamarisk Growing Along River Bank (NPS Photo) |
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The single greatest impediment to returning the battlefield to a relatively close semblance of mixed-grass prairie is the presence of non-native plant species. Brought in both purposely and inadvertently by Euro-American settlers, non-native plants have thrived in a landscape long disturbed by agricultural activities. In some cases, the weed species have formed monocultures that exclude any native plant from growing, depriving native wildlife of food and shelter. At the present time there are twenty-four non-native plant species present in the park, comprising approximately one-third of the site's land base. Hopefully the reintroduction of fire to the park's ecosystem will help stem the invasive plant tide. Beyond fire, low-toxicity herbicides and manual extraction, in conjunction with revegetation, seem to be the best methods for combating the weed onslaught. By their very nature, these methods are quite time and labor intensive. The park accordingly faces an uphill battle when it comes to eradicating non-native species from the site.
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