Here for a Reason

“Grassland soils through untold centuries have been thoroughly protected by the unbroken mantle of prairie vegetation. The vegetation and soil are closely related, intimately mixed, and highly interdependent upon each other and upon climate. Hence prairie is much more than land covered with grass. It is a slowly evolved, highly complex organic entity, centuries old. It approaches the eternal. Once destroyed, it can never be replaced by man.” –John Ernest Weaver, the “Founding father of modern plant ecology.” January, 1944, University of Nebraska Professor 1915-1952

My first solo trip to the tall grasses of Nine-Mile Prairie was on June 7, 2019. Even though I had lived in Lincoln since the fall of 2016, I was unaware of the existence of Nine-Mile Prairie. When I first arrived at Nine-Mile Prairie, the thing that greeted me when I walked up the mowed path was a bulletin board with a compartment, guarded by a hinged door, that stored a visitor log. As I glanced through some of the notes that others have written, one of them stuck out to me. A person had lost their wallet in the tall grass; that wallet apparently had $4 and a pack of Skittles in it. They could not find it and asked if anyone else could keep an eye out for it. The main concern wasn’t the money, but rather a packet of Skittles. This made me curious, and I laughed out loud.

After checking the visitor log and reading that amusing entry, I continued walking down the gravel path to explore the rest of the prairie. There were two sections that were burned the previous year and so the ground was still burnt, and parts of plants were charred. You could even smell the burnt foliage; it smelled like a campfire, which had a calming effect on me as the smell of fire always reminded me of family get togethers and fall events. It wasn't until a few yards later that I first found a glacial rock, nestled into the dried and golden-brown stalks from last year’s plants. I stared, almost star struck, at the rock in front of me.

I had first heard of the glacial rocks at Nine-Mile Prairie in a class taught by Dr. Drew Tyre. He said they are there because of the glaciers that used to be draped over Nebraska. This information set me in wonder. The amount of power, strength and fluidity that the glacier must have had to move the rock astonished me. It was even more amazing when I learned how these rocks impacted Nine-Mile Prairie, and why they are still where they are today.

What is Nine-Mile Prairie?

Nine-Mile Prairie is a 230-acre piece of protected tall grass prairie that is inhabited by hundreds of different species. This prairie is especially unusual because unlike the majority of the prairies in the Great Plains, Nine-Mile Prairie has never been plowed, making it one of the few remnant prairies left in the United States. Sadly, less than 1% of  tallgrass prairie remains today in the U.S. and about 2% of that is scattered in Nebraska in remnant pieces. Today, Nine-Mile Prairie is utilized for grazing, haying, educational purposes, and as a seed source for native grasses and wildflowers for prairie restoration efforts in other areas in the region. Nine-Mile Prairie is maintained by faculty from several University of Nebraska departments and by members of different agencies and organizations. It is deemed an “important outdoor laboratory for the study of biological processes in grassland” by UNL personnel.

For the past eight months I have had the honor and pleasure to photograph some of the species that call this breathtaking prairie home. There are 392 vascular species of plants, including a federally threatened species, the Prairie White Fringed Orchid. It also has more than 80 species of birds and an array of frogs, mice, foxes, raccoons, and coyotes. Thanks to two trail cameras, I was able to capture videos of some of these animals as they went about their lives.

The type of vegetation that can be enjoyed at one time ebbs and flows to follow the change in the seasons, but there is almost always something blooming. These species have been able to cling to their spot in the prairie for so long all thanks to their intricate and deep root structures, as the roots of the plants extend deep into the soil.

History

Nine-Mile Prairie was once part of a larger tallgrass prairie ecosystem where the grasses swayed, and buffalo roamed. Tallgrass prairie ranged from Manitoba to Texas and east to Indiana spanning about 200 million acres. As settlers moved west, the prairie was plowed for agriculture, urban development, energy, etc. In the 1930s, Nine-Mile Prairie was a tallgrass prairie field site that was used for plant ecology research by the “founder” of prairie ecology, Dr. John Weaver. Dr. Weaver researched prairie plant root systems and drought tolerance. His research was an important part in the University of Nebraska’s history as a land-grant university, and helped to save Nine-Mile Prairie from the plow and development. 

In the late 1920s, Dr. Weaver’s student T.L. Steiger did research on the plants and provided pictures that detailed frequency and cover of the plants. This gave valuable images to those who are trying to keep Nine-Mile Prairie as close to its original state as possible. By being able to see how the prairie was then, they can see how the prairie has changed over the last 100 years.

The Nine-Mile Prairie property changed ownership between families and a railroad company until it was purchased by the U.S. Department of Defense in 1953 to be a fenced buffer around a Cold War era bomb storage depot. This bomb storage depot was deactivated in 1978 and the property was deeded to the Lincoln Airport Authority (LAA). The buffer around the Cold War Bomb storage ultimately protected the prairie from other uses such as agriculture and development. This one act could arguably be the reason why Nine-Mile Prairie is the untouched prairie we can explore today.

In 1983 the tallgrass prairie was purchased by the University of Nebraska Foundation with the help of Marguerite Hall Metzger. Marguerite's husband was a lover of the prairie and after his passing, Mrs. Metzger generously donated a large sum to the University of Nebraska Foundation so that Nine-Mile Prairie could be used for education and kept in its natural form.

In the mid 1980s Nine-Mile Prairie was added to the National Register of Historic Places and received a Nebraska State Historical Marker. This marker can be seen right when you walk up to the gate and it greets every person who enters the prairie, no matter what their agenda is, once they place a foot or paw on the untilled ground.

Bomb Bunkers

You would never think a place that previously had the potential to create mass destruction to be a place of such beauty. The bomb bunkers were where some of the bombs from the Cold War were held. Because the two parts of the bombs were extremely reactive, they were kept in separate bunkers. This is why there are two different rows of bunkers. When I first was given permission to photograph the bomb bunkers, I honestly was nervous. Places like that always carry their past and sometimes it can be felt in the air. I knew that there was going to be a strong energy in the bunker area and it both excited me and made me uneasy. As I rolled up to them, I knew I was right.

"The seed hairs of the prickly lettuce plant and the milkweed plant are scattered throughout the prairie that hide the bunkers from peeping eyes. The sun bounces off the tufts and creates a lightweight and almost fairyland like feeling. You feel peaceful and in awe, but if you pay attention, there is still a looming and malicious air to the bunkers. The wind is soft and quiet and only an occasional bird call and rustle of drying milkweed stocks can be heard." - an excerpt of my field notes.

The bunkers loomed over me as I clambered up the side of the road across from where my car stood. I always seem to just stand where I can see all of the bunkers in a U shape, their backs to me as I face the prairie that hides them. There is just something about things that hold so much history that amazes me. I can't help but think "what kind of story do you hold, what secrets do you hide?" and my mind instantly goes to all the videos, movies, and texts that I have read about the intricate stories of past lives and how interesting each one is, and how much connection and depth they hold.

A management practice that happens around the bomb bunkers is haying. During one of my visits, the place that glistened with the white tufts of prickly lettuce and seeds of milkweed only a week before now looked more like a farm ground to me. It almost brings a sense of comfort, something that is familiar for a person who lived around agricultural fields in a place that used to hold so much power and that still today has an ominous air to it.

Today, the bomb bunkers no longer hold bombs but are primarily used for storage that people can rent. Some people house their boats and fancy cars, others store fireworks.

Education

Each year many classes from UNL and surrounding schools come to the prairie for learning. My very first taste of Nine-Mile Prairie was when I was in a class taught by Dr. Tyre. We traveled to the prairie in vans and learned about plant communities and were shown how scientists used plots to find the presence and abundance of species. My classmates and I were handed a square “box” of PVC pipe and told to randomly toss it gently into the prairie. From there we counted how many different species were in that square meter. After counting, we used an equation to determine roughly how many plants were in the prairie. Species counts are used to help make management decisions.

The prairie also is used to teach about different land management practices. This includes mowing, the use of grazing, pesticides and herbicides, and fire. Dr. Dave Wedin, manager of Nine-Mile Prairie, Ecosystem Ecologist and professor at UNL, teaches a class that learns about these in a hands-on approach. They learn about the importance of prairie burns, vegetation surveys, and herbicide/species management. For example, in September 2020 his class learned why fire is a management tool, and students learned the proper procedures for doing so. Using a rake and a flapper, which is a tool that extinguishes fire by placing the rubber square on the fire to not allow oxygen in, and a pack of water with a hose and a spray nozzle attached to it, students did a prescribed burn on a 1/10th acre of land. Now, 1/10th of an acre may seem small, but when I arrived at the prairie on the day of the burn and saw the section marked off to be burned it was much larger than I thought it would be, which strongly put into perspective the amount of acres that are burned annually in the United States and how huge that area span really was.

Education of students isn’t the only way this prairie teaches others. Every day strangers, friends, and four-legged companions come to the prairie to find whatever it is that they are looking for. Nine-Mile Prairie is a place where you can allow yourself to heal and to take a break from the busy parts of life. It allows for solitary walks in the sunshine or a needed, social-distanced, group outing with friends or loved ones. The prairie teaches peace. It teaches the role of death in order to have life, which in turn allows for solitude and compassion when someone learns to say goodbye to another who passes. It is a constant reminder of the shift in life; nothing ever stays the same but you can always count on it having a purpose, grace, and beauty.

Fire

Why is it important to have places like Nine-Mile Prairie?

As I strolled through the prairie last week it felt almost as if it was the last time I would ever go there. I know that this isn’t true, but that was the feeling that accompanied me. I was taken aback by how quickly it changed. Even though I have been going to the prairie all year, the quick changes never cease to amaze me. Nothing ever stays the same in the prairie, each time you visit something is different. I looked around and everything was dead or hibernating with the coming winter. However, there were still colors of golden browns, auburn, yellow, and even a bit of green. Everything quiet, yet still so alive. It transported me back to the first day that I came to Nine-Mile Prairie.

I began the trek back to my car as it began to become dark. Just as I glanced to my left, I saw it. I saw the glacier rock that I had seen in the beginning of my journey through the prairie. I stopped and stared. I had been looking for the rock since that first day, but never again finding it in the sea of tall grasses that have thrived and flourished this year. Of course, the time I don’t look for it, when I am taken back to the beginning, is when I find it again. And then it made sense. Everything that I have learned, all of the lessons I had been taught by the prairie this year, came together and I understood why. Why we must have death in order to have life, why we have to let go in order to receive, and why things must constantly change in order to stay in motion and that every change has a purpose.

For me, this is why places like Nine-Mile Prairie are important. It teaches things that can’t be taught in a classroom. It whispers secrets that you can only hear when you aren't paying attention. It teaches about life, meaning, and connections. It is an oasis in itself and allows so many people a place to heal, discover, walk, and find joy.

Every place like Nine-Mile Prairie once had a grand reason for being protected, just one reason. But it gave so much more than what it was needed for. The prairie was used for one purpose: to be a buffer for the Bomb Bunker Depot. And yet, it has served many other needs.

“If you are looking for a few more reasons to love this prairie, maybe take a few from the entries in the Nine-Mile Prairie Visitor Register of those who have experienced the prairie first hand.”- Excerpt from my notes

Special Thanks To:

Dr. David Wedin

Jacob Harvey

Robert P. McNally

Cheryl D. Dunn

Ethan Freese

Mariah Lundgren

Kim Hachiya

Michael Farrell

Michael Forsberg

Brooke Talbott

Mikaela wrote this story during her undergraduate internship with Platte Basin Timelapse at the University of Nebraska. Platte Basin Timelapse (PBT) is a long-term multimedia storytelling project aimed to help educate people about the Platte River Basin and what it means to live in a watershed today. PBT uses the power of storytelling to shine a light on often overlooked places, and to create community around a watershed.