Groups to restore prairiesFour conservation groups are teaming
up to restore some of the country’s original grasslands and
preserve the wildlife that depends on it. By: By Judith Kohler,
The Associated Press, The Jamestown Sun DENVER — Four
conservation groups are teaming up to restore some of the
country’s original grasslands and preserve the wildlife that
depends on it. The groups announced the partnership Tuesday.
Members say only 10 percent of North America’s 585 million acres
of original native grasslands re-main, putting wildlife that
live there at peril. The goal is to improve 60 million acres of
habitat. Terry Riley of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation
Partnership said the project’s focus will be on grouse because
the birds are a bellwether of the prairie’s condition. “We have
found that prairie grouse are one of the most sensitive
(species) to change,” said Riley of Albuquerque, N.M., formerly
a wildlife biologist with the U.S. Forest Service and the Iowa
Department of Natural Resources. Other grou