Program info provided by Gordon Murdock, Bell Museum. PRAIRIES --=20
Rediscovering and Restoring the North American Prairie Slide Lecture with Stephen Jones Thursday, April 1, 7 p.m. Bell Museum Members $5, nonmembers $7 Bell Museum of Natural History 17th and University Aves. S. E., Minneapolis Information: 612-624-9050 Enjoy the sights and sounds of the prairie, including profiles of prairie preserves and restorations from Colorado to Minnesota to Illinois and to Texas. Stephen Jones and Ruth Carol Cushman are co-authors of the new Peterson Field Guides, The North American Prairie: field guide to the plants, wildlife, and natural history of the prairie, including where to hike and camp. Published by Houghton Mifflin. Steve Jones will discuss the status of North American prairies and their ecology. Prairies have been largely destroyed in the past 100 years and there is growing public interest in their restoration. He will profile prairie preserves from Canada to the Midwest including Minnesota. Ruth Caro= l Cushman, co-author of the book, will join Steve Jones in discussion and answering questions. Signed copies of the books will be available for purchase. The prairie holds a mythic place in North America=B9s history and sense of itself. During a period of less than 100 years, most of this magnificent ecosystem was destroyed. Only recently have many people come to appreciate the unique ecology of the prairie. While researching their new prairie guidebook, Steve Jones and Ruth Carol Cushman encountered a growing wave of interest in preserving and restoring native grasslands. They also became acquainted with dozens of magical places, such as Alberta's Writing on Ston= e Provincial Park, Nebraska's Niobrara Valley Preserve, Kansas's Konza Prairie, and Minnesota's Wallace C. Dayton Conservation and Wildlife Area. Steve Jones is a teacher, naturalist, and environmental consultant. His recent book, The Last Prairie, a Sandhills Journal, celebrates the beauty and spirit of one of North America's last wild landscapes. Ruth Carol Cushman, has contributed more than 40 natural history articles t= o national magazines and traveled widely in North America gathering information and photographs for the Peterson prairie guide.
