Back to native: La Crosse prairie being restored for pollinators

Seeding has begun on 40-acre quarry to create foundation for ecosystem.

Seeding at La Crosse’s prairie restoration this week.

Crews are working to restore 40 acres in the Mathy Quarry recreation area in an effort to help pollinators like Monarch butterflies.

It’s a long term process, says Sunshine Love, in the city’s parks department, but worth it to create diversity and help the entire ecosystem

“Native plants provide food for our insects and those insects provide food for our birds and everything truly beyond,” Love said, adding that beyond seeding this week, the prairie will have to undergo almost constant maintenance to remain free of invasive species.

It was never really an option to let the non-native, invasive plants continue to take over in the bluffs above La Crosse – the weed kill took place last week.
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That’s why the city’s working on restoring a section of the quarry back to a status as a pollinator prairie, creating a foundation for an entire ecosystem.

“Doing nothing, in many cases, shouldn’t be an option,” Love said. “We should be doing something.

“Our invasive plants do not provide food for our insects so it’s really just a critical thing for everybody to plant native species in Wisconsin, so we can support our ecosystems properly.”

The multi-year project, which is largely grant funded, aims to enhance the work, not just pollinating Monarchs, but bumblebees, as well.