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- Earth Notes - Kiowa Grasslands
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The recent history of the West has been dominated by a human presence that has changed numerous fragile landscapes. But a few areas have actually lost people, and unique ecosystems are coming back to life as a result.
The Kiowa National Grassland is a shortgrass prairie in the wide-open spaces of northeastern New Mexico, where the human population peaked many decades ago. It?s part of a federal system, managed by the U.S. Forest Service, that protects more than a quarter-million acres of natural grasslands in several states.
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Piece Description
The recent history of the West has been dominated by a human presence that has changed numerous fragile landscapes. But a few areas have actually lost people, and unique ecosystems are coming back to life as a result. The Kiowa National Grassland is a shortgrass prairie in the wide-open spaces of northeastern New Mexico, where the human population peaked many decades ago. It?s part of a federal system, managed by the U.S. Forest Service, that protects more than a quarter-million acres of natural grasslands in several states.
Transcript
The recent history of the West has been dominated by a human presence that has changed numerous fragile landscapes. But a few areas have actually lost people, and unique ecosystems are coming back to life as a result.
The Kiowa National Grassland is a shortgrass prairie in the wide-open spaces of northeastern New Mexico, where the human population peaked many decades ago. It?s part of a federal system, managed by the U.S. Forest Service, that protects more than a quarter-million acres of natural grasslands in several states.
So vulnerable to disturbance is the Kiowa that visitors can still see miles of wagon ruts and campsites left by travelers on the Santa Fe Trail. The landscape looks much as it did when nineteenth-century merchants, mountain men, and fortune-seekers headed from Missouri to Santa Fe. Gently rolling plains stretch across a vast horizon, dotted by eroded hills and...
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