Conserving & Restoring the Blackland Prairie

Blackland Prairie Raptor Center’s campus sits on 66 acres of land along the shores of Lavon Lake. Before commercial and housing development and agriculture initiatives, the land was pristine Blackland Prairie – a temperate grassland ecoregion named after its dark, rich soil. The Blackland Prairie, in its prime, provides a rare native habitat for birds, butterflies, insects, reptiles, and other wildlife that live only in prairie environments.

Additionally, the Prairie is a critical hunting ground for migratory birds. With less than 0.1% of the original Blackland Prairie vegetation remaining, scattered across Texas in parcels, our Center is committed to restoring our 66-acre campus to its original state, supporting local and migratory raptors and all other wildlife. The campus is a sanctuary for native plants and wildlife and serves as a teaching tool.

The hallmark of the Blackland Prairie tallgrass ecoregion is the richness of its unique biodiversity. This ecoregion spans 12.6 million acres and is home to an abundance of birds, mammals, insects, reptiles, amphibians, and plants. Today, per Texas Parks and Wildlife, a mere 5,000 acres remain under native cover, making the Blackland Prairie one of the most endangered ecosystems in North America. The prairie grasses and wildflowers formed the foundation, and its destruction has consequences. The most basic is the loss of habitat for native species, not just plants, but all species. When the habitats are lost, the former inhabitants disappear with them.

The future of the Blackland Prairie depends upon the preservation of still surviving remnants and the restoration of Blackland vegetation on other sites. Such preserves provide a place for remaining native populations to survive. Preserves help scientists and land managers understand the functioning of the prairie ecosystem and serve as a source of seeds for efforts to restore native species elsewhere. Only through restoration efforts can the Blackland Prairie be brought back to places it has been destroyed. Successful restoration would not only benefit native species but would also reestablish the ecological conditions of historic Blackland prairies.