School Board hears Anderson Prairie presentation

(decorahnews.com file photo)

Luther biology professor Dr. Kirk Larsen made a presentation to the Decorah Community School Board on Monday night regarding Anderson Prairie – one of the proposed sites for a new Decorah elementary school facility. Larsen made it clear that he was not representing any Luther committee or position on the issue, but was speaking based on his personal investment as a insect ecologist who has worked with and done research on the prairie for over 20 years.
 
Larsen highlighted the biodiversity, educational, and ecosystem contributions of the prairie. His presentation included the carbon sequestration impact of a prairie, significant recent examples of the prairie's ability to capture massive water run-off from storms, the use of the prairie for over 30 different Luther classes, conferences drawn to Decorah with the prairie as a resource focus, the prairie being a site for research and training on prescribed burning. He also noted the prairie as being part of the monarch butterfly preservation efforts, producing over 1,000 monarchs per year. Several beetles not otherwise found in Iowa have been discovered in the prairie.

When asked about the potential for a reduced size of the prairie, he said that "size does matter" in regard to the prairie. Reduced size would significantly reduce the biodiversity, both because of compacted space and the impact of "edge effects." Larsen said that much of his research would be lost or seriously compromised if part of the prairie is used for other purposes.