major projects

In places where grasslands have been driven to functional extinction, SGI is working with NPS to reconstruct thousands of acres of grasslands in agricultural and/or fallow fields. This project represents the largest concerted effort to restore grasslands in eastern National Parks. The goals of the project are to uplift grasslands and National Parks via restoration, reconstruction, and monitoring efforts.

Once restoration is completed in 2027, the Natural Area will be open to the public with a diverse array of trails and viewpoints. The Natural Area will be managed in perpetuity by SGI using prescribed fire and grazing to maintain the health of the ecosystem and the species that inhabit it.

Best Hope Farm will serve as a core anchor grassland along with several neighboring landowners, including Montgomery Bell State Park, in SGI’s Restoring America’s Ecosystem project.

Interns gain a diverse skillset and understanding of environmental restoration and research techniques. These include prescribed fire, seed collection, restoration equipment use, hands-on sawyering experience, wildlife survey research that include surveys of plants, invertebrates, herps, & mammals, seed propagation, plug planting, and invasive species management.

Boots to Botany interns leave the program prepared for civilian careers in botany, ecology, and restoration.

Please contact Jeremy French if you are a servicemember interested in our Boots to Botany program.

Dunbar Cave is currently actively managed by SGI volunteers and our restoration team. Dunbar hosts a diverse array of trails, and is home to an abundance of wildlife.

Be sure to check out our Volunteer Calendar for opportunities to help with restoration efforts at Dunbar Cave State Park in Clarksville.

Since then, Google and SGI’s partnership has grown the prairie to over 100 acres, with future growth goals to expand the current prairie to over 200 acres by 2027. Google Prairie, when planted, utilized the most diverse seed mix ever attempted in the region, with over 96 individual species planted. Since restoration efforts began, we have seen many rare and uncommon species return to the site. Now, grassland species whose populations are dropping rapidly now frequent the site - bobwhite quail, American bumblebees, river otters - are a common occurrence. The return of these species and the increased biodiversity and enhanced natural state of the site is providing improved water quality, air quality, and quality of life for Clarksville residents along the watershed. The site is actively managed by SGI volunteers and restoration staff.

Be sure to check out our Volunteer Calendar for opportunities to help with restoration efforts at Google Prairie in Clarksville.

To learn more about the Google Prairie partnership, check out the video Where the Internet Lives: Data center on the prairie on YouTube. 

This acquisition was SGI’s first ever land purchase. Conserving and restoring this critically rare grassland within the town of Guthrie, KY, represents the importance of conserving even the smallest remnants, because they often hold the lion’s share of biodiversity, seed sources, and are the genetic seed banks critical to rebuilding grasslands at scale.

The work of this grant will stabilize, restore, and reconstruct thousands of acres of grasslands in Middle Tennessee by establishing 6 grassland anchor sites across public and private lands. Grassland anchor sites are at least 100 contiguous acres of grassland habitat. When it comes to grassland functionality, research suggests that size matters, especially when we think of turning the tide of grassland bird decline. Larger grasslands are generally better at supporting our threatened grassland bird populations. Please refer to the Working Lands for Wildlife Northern Bobwhite Grasslands, and Savannas framework publication for more details.

The six anchor sites will be at Shelby Bottoms Greenway and Natural Area, Lytle Bend (aka Ravenwood), Barnett’s Woods and Prairie State Natural Area, Wessyngton Plantation, Google Prairie, and Dickson County anchor site.

In addition to the establishment of these anchor sites, this funding will enable us to stabilize and restore 1,000 acres of remnant fragments of grasslands across public and private lands which hold the genetics and seed resources key to uplifting grassland reconstruction at scale in the region. Remnant restoration work will include the use of prescribed fire, timber stand improvement, seed collection, technical assistance, land management planning, and invasive species management work to create healthy grassland ecosystems.

If you are interested in contributing land or resources to this project, please contact Jeremy French, or Vero Tessier.

Our work here will restore grassland communities that would have existed during the time of Indigenous habitation.

Old Town currently has populations of many uncommon or culturally significant species, most notably the rare hortulan’s plum, Prunus hortulana, Chickasaw plums, Prunus angustifolia, and river cane, Arundinaria gigantea.

The project will stabilize and restore 1,000 acres of grasslands, with 600 acres of grassland remnants to be restored, and 400 acres to be reconstructed in Central Tennessee. An additional goal of this effort is to collect over 500 pounds of local genotype seed to be used as the seed source for restoration in Central Tennessee.

If you have interest in supporting or contributing your land to this project, please contact Jeremy French or Vero Tessier.

Currently, the Farm at Sinking Creek contains many rare Appalachian grasslands that SGI is working to restore, including, but not limited to, beaver meadows, fens, open oak woodlands, and other open grassy communities.

sgi past REstoration projects

The Southeastern Grasslands Institute is grateful for the partnership of many agencies, donors, and organizations on our projects since our inception in 2017. Please see the list below of significant projects that have advanced grassland restoration in our focal region.