Please consider supporting the conservation of our prairies with a donation!
Congratulations to Barry and Darlene Bidwell, TNC Washington's Volunteers of the Year. Barry and Darlene are very dedicated volunteers who have each become a constant presence on the prairies in the past two decades. Barry has been volunteering on the prairies for 27 years, and Darlene has been volunteering for almost as long. Barry has shared his passion for butterflies with countless numbers of volunteers throughout the year, and Darlene's commitment to any and every task we need accomplished, her warm personality, and great attitude has become something that everyone looks forward to on volunteer days. Read more...
Get in touch:
Hannah Anderson
South Sound Prairies Working Group Administrator
Phone/Fax : 360.283.5449
handerson@cnlm.org
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Mazama pocket gophers are an important component in South Sound prairies. While still found in Thurston and Pierce Counties, they are globally rare and considered threatened with extinction by the State of Washington.
Learn more!
Cascadia Prairie Oak Partnership brings together professional conservationists and restorationists from throughout the Northwest. If you would like to reference scientific papers about prairies or network with the professional conservation community please contact Hannah Anderson at handerson@cnlm.org.
The prairie program of The Center for Natural Lands Management has an on-going need for interns. The program accommodates a variety of individuals, from those attending college nearby in Olympia or Tacoma, to those from overseas. Learn more.
This website is here to educate the public about the unique prairie and oak woodland habitat that we have in South Puget Sound, and the work that is being done to conserve it.
The new Taylor's checkerspot captive rearing program at the Mission Creek Correctional Center for Women was highlighted in a recent article in the well-regarded Conservation Magazine. The article also featured the Oregon spotted frog captive rearing program at Cedar Creek Corrections Center, where frogs are being reared for release into a protected wetland at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
These innovative programs are the work of the Sustainable Prisons Project, a partnership between The Evergreen State College and the Washington State Department of Corrections. Read the article here.
The Center for Natural Lands Management (CNLM) officially took over the South Puget Sound Program of The Nature Conservancy on July 1, 2011. CNLM has a 20 year history of conservation, and will continue the South Sound program’s focus on conserving prairies, oak woodlands and freshwaters in the South Sound. The change has been seamless, with the staff and programs of the South Sound program continuing as before.
Pat Dunn, the head of CNLM's Washington Program, said, "We have a new name, but it's still the same faces here at our South Sound office. We're thrilled to have the collective expertise and experience of CNLM behind our program, and we look forward to reaching even greater heights in prairie conservation from here."
The Center for Natural Lands Management and its partners are using a novel technique to ensure that South Sound streaked horned larks are not becoming inbred. They are swapping eggs from lark populations in Oregon's Willamette Valley into South Sound lark nests. So far, several birds from the swapped eggs have successfully fledged. Listen to or read an NPR report on the project here.
