Touch the Sky Prairie is 1,000 acres of restored northern tallgrass prairie northwest of Luverne, where more than 120 species of native grasses and forbes have been identified.
The pristine land is one mile from where world-renowned nature photographer Jim Brandenburg was born, and two miles from where his ancestors broke sod.
The prairie was established as a partnership with Luverne’s Brandenburg Gallery, which offers the photographer’s most popular and current prints, many of which feature the local prairie.
The gallery, which opened in 1999, supports the non-profit Brandenburg Prairie Foundation’s mission to “educate, promote, preserve, and expand native prairie in southwest Minnesota.”
In his blog, Brandenburg describes what the prairie means to him and his photography.
“Born on a small prairie farm to children and grandchildren of turn-of-the-century immigrants, I first experienced a world without trees. My earliest memories are of a landscape with an incessant wind and a bright open-sky sun.
At 14 years old, Brandenburg captured his first nature photograph of a shy fox with his $3 camera. He said the resulting image spoke to him with a profound and life-changing voice.
“Nearly fifty years later that voice is still whispering in my ear. … I traveled and photographed grand landscapes of the world. Many were covered with alluring luxurious forests and jungles. I even fulfilled a boyhood fantasy to live in a romantic wilderness log cabin beneath towering pines. But the visual language dialect that still seems to translate with the deepest meaning in my work is that of the open sky prairie-like landscape.”
Touch the Sky Prairie’s high rolling terrain has a 360-degree view with vistas that reach as far as 20 miles, giving its name. Among its many features is a Sioux quartzite ridgeline running over a mile.
Historically, buffalo rubbed against these rocks creating smooth, glassy finishes on some of the quartzite outcroppings.
The Beaver Creek runs through the refuge and over layered rock forming a small series of waterfalls. The Topeka Shiner, a minnow listed as federally endangered by U.S. Fish and Wildlife, was found in the creek. In 2009 the federally endangered western prairie fringed orchid was also found on the preserve.
Working in partnership with the Fish and Wildlife, all fences have been removed along with non-native trees and the buildings from two farmsteads.
Extensive weed control is conducted every year along with regular controlled burns, and prairie seeds are harvested in autumn to plant on the adjacent cropland, continuing the local gene base.
Mowed paths and interpretive signs direct visitors, which include hundreds of students, scientists and nature lovers every year.
Prairie Foundation Board seeks new local members
Current Brandenburg Prairie Foundation Board members include Jim Brandenburg, Judy Brandenburg, Randy Creeger, Dave Smith, Ben Van der Kooi, Tom Brakke, Lori (Ehde) Sorenson, Terry Vajgrt, Chris Nowatzki and Barry Christenson
The board is currently seeking new members and new voices for the cause.
“We’re looking for people to enjoy the prairie and join the effort of prairie expansion and development,” Smith said.
To join the board and/or to support the local foundation effort, contact Smith at 507-920-2710 or Creeger at 507-220-1105
For more information or to donate to the cause, see jimbrandenburg.com.