Tenalquot Prairie Preserve was purchased by The NatureA healthy patch of Castilleja levisecta at Tenalquot Prairie Preserve.

Conservancy to establish a preserve dedicated to conserving the

rarest prairie species. Initially, the habitat at Tenalquot was

degraded by long-term grazing, but restoration efforts have

improved much of that habitat and Tenalquot is rapidly becoming

a high-quality prairie. Already, Tenalquot has become one of the

best locations in WA for golden paintbrush, a federallythreatened

species. With good establishment of paintbrush from

seed at Tenalquot, the site should officially qualify as a recovery

population soon. Tenalquot is also habitat for a thriving

population of mazama pocket gophers. Tenalquot supports one

of the largest populations of pocket gophers on lands protected

for conservation. The population is likely augmented by gophers

from the adjacent Joint Base Lewis-McChord prairies. Finally,

the Taylor’s checkerspot habitat team just visited the Preserve

and determined that it is a priority site for reintroduction of that butterfly. CNLM

biologists will work to prepare the habitat for introduction of this rare butterfly over

the next couple of years.

Plant and Seed Production Expanding

The need for native plants and seed to enhance South

Sound prairies has increased dramatically over the last few

years. To meet this need CNLM has been increasing the

infrastructure and effort associated with plant and seed

production. We have partnered with the Sustainability inSierra Smith, our new Nursery Manager, collecting seed at Webster’s Nursery. Sierra teams with staff member Angela Winter, who focuses on seed production, and the Sustainability in Prisons Project that focuses on plug production.

Prisons Project to produce upwards of 500,000 plugs of

prairie plants at Stafford Creek Correctional Center and our

Shotwell’s Landing Nursery. Native seed production has

also increased, with a goal for this year of more than 800

lbs from at least 20 key species. We are producing seed for

many of the species on 10-acres at the WA Dept. of Natural

Resources Webster’s Nursery, but have also expanded

contract growing with both local producers and those in

eastern WA. We are hopeful that these production numbers

will continue to increase over the next few years, allowing

us to restore hundreds of acres of prairie each year.

Prairie Conservation

Conservation Intern Program –CNLM recruits the best and

brightest college students and graduates to help the South

Sound Program. These students fill critical needs, helping

with everything from vegetation monitoring and data entry to

prescribed fire and native seed collection. Several haveCNLM Conservation Interns and Americorps ready for the field. They get to ride in style in our green truck!

conducted independent research projects, answering critical

questions related to prairie conservation. This summer, we

have six interns helping with research and restoration

projects. They are also receiving leadership and communications

training from our four Americorps members, who have

honed their skills recently under the guidance of business

consultant Lynette Ritchie. If you see Robyn, David, Deirdre,

Patrick, Tim or Ian, please welcome them to the CNLM team!

Checkerspot Habitat Study - CNLM, along with WA Depts. of Fish and Wildlife and

Natural Resources, were awarded funding by the Army Compatible Use Buffer

Program to strengthen the scientific underpinnings of Taylor’s checkerspot habitat

restoration. Scientific information that elucidates important habitat characteristics to

aid species’ recovery is generally very difficult to obtain, especially for rare species with

few remaining populations. This challenge is common to many programs designed to

conserve at-risk species in preserves altered by degraded habitat. To meet this

challenge, an outside consultant is being sought to devise a cost-effective and timely

strategy that meets the conservation partners’ information needs for: 1) land

management planning, and 2) evaluation of site-readiness for reintroducing

checkerspot butterflies. Several very strong proposals are currently under review.

Prairie Appreciation DayA Prairie Appreciation Day attendee does the butterfly dance amidst the splendor of Glacial Heritage Preserve.

PAD 2012 was another great success. Perfect weather, fun

booths and a gorgeous prairie all contributed. This may

have been the best attended PAD ever, with more than

1,200 attendees. Thanks to Friends of Puget Prairies and

the conservation partners for their contributions to such a

wonderful festival. As CNLM staffer Marnie Lassen’s two

preschoolers commented, “Mom can we come next year?

That was fun!” Hopefully next year’s Prairie Appreciation

Day will be even more fun.

Bat Conservation

You might not immediately associate bats with prairies, but

our conservation partner Wolf Haven does. In fact, "Wolf

Haven International is taking 2012's International Year of

the Bat seriously." With the help of CNLM’s biologist

Sanders Freed and bat specialist Greg Falxa of Cascadia

Research, Wolf Haven has erected several bat houses to

help the eleven species that use the prairie, oak woodland and wetlands at Wolf

Haven. The best part is that the boxes are already being used by bats. Visit Wolf

Haven to see their prairie and bats!