VANISHING TALL GRASS PRAIRIES Wildflowers cover this stretch of Tall Grass Prairie When surveyors traveled through the Sydenham River Watershed in the 1830’s, they came upon a few surprises - they discovered vast areas of swamp and tall grass prairie. When we think of prairies, our thoughts may drift to the prairies of Alberta and Saskatchewan. But tall grass prairies were at one time part of the landscape throughout this region. Several references to the tall grass prairie landscapes can be found in the journals of the early surveyors that explored the region. Wildflowers on a prairie slide. "The forest was not a solid one… on Lot 16 of the road… Carroll crossed six chains of open meadow with high grass extending a considerable distance to the right and to the left" Later settlers quickly cleared these patches of prairie for agricultural production.

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