Teaming Up for Prairie Care at Smith Cemetery Nature Preserve

The Wabash River Invasives Project (WRIP) organized a great volunteer morning at Smith Cemetery Nature Preserve in Vermillion County! Helping hands came together to tackle an unusual challenge—controlling sassafras seedlings that were starting to overtake the prairie.

While sassafras is a native species, in prairie habitats it can behave more like a weed, quickly spreading and shading out the native wildflowers and grasses that define these rare ecosystems. At the request of the Indiana Division of Nature Preserves, volunteers worked together to remove young trees and help keep this special site thriving.

Ouabache Land Conservancy was proud to partner on this project with WRIP, Purdue Extension Vermillion County, and the Vermillion County Soil and Water Conservation District. It was a great day of teamwork, conservation, and shared care for one of Indiana’s beautiful prairie remnants.