Benson Park prairie effort went to the weeds

The seeds will be planted this spring and fall, but the prairie at Benson Park isnt expected to flourish for two years.

Perhaps sixty types of grass and flowers should grow here after herbicides and fire eliminate the weeds that now dominate the 20-acre site. Once its roots run deep, a prairie can take care of itself, but invasive weeds like Reed canary grass and Canada thistle can cast a deadly shadow over a nascent prairie.

This will be the second attempt at establishing a prairie in Benson Park, which saw its first seeding in 2010. In the years since, the prairie plants lost the tug-of-war that theyve lost so many times before since invasive species appeared here.

By last summer, the invasive perennial Canada thistle had taken over the park.

Its not clear why, though a request from the North Mankato City Council to reduce the use of herbicide on the park may have played a role in the thistles dominance. Chemicals were applied to the weeds in places, but it apparently was not enough.

Whatever the cause, so few prairie plants remained from the original planting that a Department of Natural Resources expert recommends starting over.

In 2010, the city paid a private contractor, Monarch Wildlife Systems, at least $14,336 in local sales tax funding to do the plantings and some of the weed control.

The company is apparently out of business, and its Secretary of State filings expired in 2011. Its former owner or manager, Jeff Henry, didnt return multiple voicemails.

The DNR prairie expert, Randy Schindle, has helped establish more than a thousand acres of prairie around the state. He said the prairies failure doesnt necessarily mean that Monarch made a mistake.

Every prairie is different and even an experienced ecological engineer can watch a fledgling prairie go out of control, Schindle said.

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Benson Park prairie effort went to the weeds