The prairie returns: Pheasants Forever seeds Remsen habitat

(Sentinel photo by Magdalene Landegent) Cara Beelner finishes a former crop field to prepare it for seeding with native grass. Beelner was one of the Remsen farmers donating their time and equipment, under the coordination of Pheasants Forever, to seed about 60 acres of farmland north of Remsen into native grasses Tuesday. The aim of the project: help keep Remsen's water source cleaner and provide habitat for pheasants and other wildlife. [Click to enlarge]

Seed by seed, row by row, a field just north of Remsen was transformed Tuesday.

Land used to grow field corn last year has a new purpose: to provide habitat and help keep Remsen water clean.

About 60 acres near the Remsen wells were tilled under and seeded as prairie Tuesday, thanks to a joint effort between the City of Remsen and Pheasants Forever. Local farmers donated time and equipment to help plant the seed.

"We're seeding native grasses -- tall and short bluestem, Canadian wild rye, flowering plants," said Mike Slota, of Pheasants Forever. "It will start greening up in about a month, but it will take three years to fully develop."

The field will have grasses ranging from knee-high to waist-high.

The project began in 2007, when the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) identified Remsen as a priority city in terms of water quality, with high nitrate levels of 5 or more parts per billion in the city's well water.

The DNR proposed a pilot project with Remsen. The goal was to find the source acres of those nitrates in the water and take that land out of crop production.

That land was identified, and Tuesday was planted with native grasses. The change cuts down the fertilizer used on those acres, thus lowering nitrate levels seeping into the ground water.

The land is now owned by the City of Remsen.

Pheasants Forever designed the habitat and coordinated Tuesday's planting.

Local farmers used their own tractors to pull the seeders, owned by the Plymouth County chapter of Pheasants Forever. The seeder is a specific piece of equipment designed for large scale grass and flower planting.

"The seeder drills it in 7 inch rows as opposed to 30-inch rows on a planter," said Richard Beelner, one of the farmers who spent Tuesday volunteering his time. "A seeder is 8 feet wide and a planter can be around 40 feet."

The group started at 9 a.m. and hoped to have the seeding done by night.

Slota said this kind of project is the reason he's part of Pheasants Forever.

"We're helping the community get the ground water cleaned up, and it also promotes habitat, plus the schools will use it as an outdoor classroom, so that helps with the education part," Slota said. "We (Pheasants Forever) were formed to put habitat into the ground and help with youth education."