KU researchers complete Native Pasture Survey project in western Douglas County

Jennifer Moody and Jennifer Delisle, of the Kansas Biological Survey and Center for Ecological Research, have completed a Native Pasture Survey project that was funded through the Douglas County Heritage Conservation Council’s Natural and Cultural Heritage grant program. They received a $38,731 grant in 2022.

Moody, an assistant research senior, focuses her research on the ecology and ethnobotany of native plants in Kansas, Missouri and Colorado. Delisle specializes in data development for conservation of rare species and their habitats. She maintains a statewide database on the rare species and natural communities of Kansas. 

Beginning in the fall of 2022 and continuing through 2023, they traveled more than 600 miles of roads in western Douglas County as they conducted roadside surveys and on-site visits of grasslands and pasture. They were able to visit 16 native pastures owned by 11 different landowners. During the visits, they made an inventory checklist of the plant species growing in the pastures. They also talked with landowners about their land, its history and the challenges they face. 

“The landowners we met are proud of their heritage and taking care of their native grasslands while making a living by grazing cattle,” Moody said.

They found controlling encroaching woody species and the invasive plant Sericea Lespedeza are big challenges for ranchers in Douglas County. 

“The ranchers who graze cattle on native pastures in the County are working stewards of the land,” they wrote in their project conclusion. “They help maintain large swathes of open grasslands that have never been plowed, preserving the open, wind-swept Kansas landscape against invasive species, woody encroachment, and other pressures. These pastures provide crucial habitat for native mammals, reptiles, grassland birds and pollinators.”

As part of the project, they created a StoryMap website - https://arcg.is/144fDn0 - that describes their research and highlights the importance of native pastures to the ecology of Douglas County.