By Holly M Syreen | Development Director
Over the past few weeks, we have been installing a new fence around our most precious areas of prairie. Fencing is necessary to keep the deer from eating our endangered Golden paintbrush and other prairie plants. When the plants are too heavily browsed, few of them are able to reach the seed stage and further populate the prairie. Our Golden paintbrush numbers went from a record 12,250 plants in 2012 down to 9,106 in 2013 and 5,291 plants in 2014. We have determined that this decline is largely due to over browsing by deer.
Eventually, we hope to restore the prairie to a robust level that will allow it to sustain the impact of herbivores. Until then, we must resort to fencing.
We will be counting the Golden paintbrush in June and hope to see our numbers begin to increase. We will keep you posted!
If you would like to see the Golden paintbrush and other native plants while they are in bloom, come and see us in May! Our Prairie Open House is scheduled for May 7-9, 2015. Visit our website for the schedule of free, daily naturalist tours and other events. You can also schedule a free private tour anytime. If you find yourself in the Whidbey area, don't hesitate to give us a call.
Thank you for all your financial support. Prairie is one of the most endangered ecosystems in the Pacific Northwest and and your support is directly increasing the heath and size of prairie on Whidbey Island and beyond.
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