LANDOWNER INTERVIEWS
Leaving a Legacy through Conservation in the Little Cottonwood Watershed

Gary Rathman | Roland Richert | Gerald and Lorrel Riederer | Marvin and Esther Windschitl

When it comes to prairie restoration and wildflowers Gary Rathman has done his homework. “I wanted to restore what was once on my land,” states Gary. “I felt the CREP program was intended to help restore what was once part of the original landscape. In the case of my land it was prairie.”

In just one year—and with the help of CREP, the local Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD), the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, prairie seed dealers, and some studying—Gary has turned part of his farm from a corn/soybean field into a very diverse ecosystem.

“When I heard about the program I became interested, and after learning more I decided to participate in the program,” Gary said. After enrollment at the SWCD office in Sleepy Eye, he spent most of the 2001 winter planning the project and selecting what to plant.

“I wanted my land to be as diverse as possible. I wanted to attract as much wildlife as I could. Hopefully one day when I look out at my field from my house I will not only have prairie chickens, partridge, and pheasants back on my land, but many types of small creatures like butterflies as well.”

Gary knew he had to plant variety to get variety. He planted more than 248 native species of wildflowers and 23 native species of grasses. Gary’s planning is already paying off. In just the first year, hundreds of wildflowers bloomed during the summer, and the short and tall prairie grasses have started to take hold. Gary’s CREP-supported prairie restoration was part of the Brown County Watershed Conservation Tour in August 2003.

The Rathman farm is located in the Little Cottonwood and Watonwan River Watersheds.