College Land Management: Of Prairie Grass and Pecan Trees

An often-overlooked advantage of Principia College is the vastness of the campus. At 2,600 acres, the blufftop property is the 25th largest college campus in the United States, according to CollegeExpress.com. It’s right up there with places like the University of New Hampshire and Purdue University. While Principia students and faculty appreciate studying and exploring the forests, prairies, and farmlands, it’s up to the Land Stewardship Program to care for an area that’s just over four square miles—a big job for a small college and staff.

“Many institutions of higher education have research stations or large parcels of land, but few have as much land directly adjacent to campus as Principia College,” says Dr. John Lovseth (C’05), manager of the Land Stewardship Program. “This proximity allows faculty to literally step outside and have their students interact with a diversity of environments.”

Lovseth and biologist Jeremy Burbee work with a team of students and occasional outside contractors to keep the land healthy and in its natural state.

Helping grasslands flourish

The hill prairies found along the bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River represent a significant portion of the last remaining prairies in Illinois. These prairies maintain a foothold on the south-facing bluffs because the dry conditions there favor grassland species. The steady encroachment of trees and shrubs, however, threatens the prairies’ long-term viability. The grasslands need help, and that’s where Lovseth and his team come in. Land Stewardship—together with the Principia Fire Brigade and the Department of Biology and Natural Resources—conduct annual prescribed burns to invigorate the prairie species and stop trees and shrubs from taking over. Pruning and light logging also keep the remaining trees from shading out the prairie.

The goal is to return the hill prairies to their condition back in the 1980s, when native grasses covered an area of campus nearly twice the size of today’s prairies.

Battling bush honeysuckle

The grasslands face a more-recent rival in the bush honeysuckle that has been spreading exponentially across campus since the early 1990s. On nearly 70 percent of Principia’s acreage, bush honeysuckle is so thick that you have to hunch over and crawl through the stems to get through the woods. 

The Land Stewardship Program spent two years working with local forestry consultants to reduce the density of bush honeysuckle on 130 acres of Ewing Wood. Building on that success, consultants will treat the bluffs and riparian areas next, with the goal of reestablishing native vegetation. Three more areas are on the list for treatment as well—Watson Ravine, Doc’s Pond, and portions of West Farm.

Stabilizing the soil and creating hiking trails

Due to the campus’s highly erodible soil and steep topography, conventional farming practices in and around the College have caused significant soil loss over the years. To address this, fields were set aside in the 1980s and planted with soil-stabilizing plants. All 290 acres of former farm fields are now dedicated to conservation goals such as restoring tallgrass prairie or encouraging pollinator-friendly vegetation. Most recently, 14 acres on North Farm were planted with 35 different species of flowering plants to support pollinators throughout the spring, summer, and fall. These changes have stemmed the loss of soil while providing excellent habitat and forage for wildlife.

In an effort to create more opportunities for students and community members to get outside and enjoy nature, the network of campus hiking trails is being expanded in Ewing Wood and Watson Ravine. The Land Stewardship work crew maintains the trails, cutting down bush honeysuckle, removing fallen logs, and clearing leaf litter. For the past five years, the crew has gotten help from new students who devote time during orientation week to working on the trails and improving signage and maps to help hikers find their way.

Other major Land Stewardship projects include the establishment in 2014 of a 16-acre nut and berry forest on East Farm, where some trees are already producing pecans. And in 2018, students began a 35-acre restoration of an oak-hickory forest just north of Doc’s Pond. Once finished that forest will resemble conditions similar to those in the 1930s, when Principia purchased the property.

For more information on Principia College’s Land Stewardship program, visit principiacollege.edu/landstewardship.