It's nice to hear of a success story now and then, in this case of a work
in progress. The science section of today's New York Times has an
interesting article about the prairie restoration project on the Neal Smith
NWR near Des Moines, a 5000-acre tract that was entirely cornfields as
recently as 1991. Today you can walk through 12-foot-high prairie grass
and enjoy a wide array of native flora and fauna. Current efforts focus on
reestablishing the Blue Prairie Violet, larval food plant of the Regal
Fritillary which has all but disappeared from Iowa. And, maybe the Greater
Prairie Chicken will return some day. You can read the article at

http://www.nytimes.com/library/national/science/092199sci-environ-prairie.html

If you are not already signed up for the New York Times web site, you'll
have to go first to http://www.nytimes.com and choose a password. You'll
find the article under Science & Health.

Hal Opperman
Medina, Washington
mailto:halop at accessone.com