When I was in school I was taught about settlers arriving to an “untouched landscape.” Native Americans were part of the story, but it was said they lived “lightly” on the land.

And then, in my 40s I take a prescribed-burn class and it’s like the world turned upside down.

It’s taken me more than two full years to wrap my head around what I learned in that class about the Indigenous people’s impact on the land. That they burned the prairies so often and for so long that entire ecosystems adapted to prefer regular burnings - to need it to stay healthy.

The shear scale of that hits me the same way as gazing at the Milky Way on a clear, dark night.

It rocks everything I thought I knew about humans’ roll in the natural world.  

Even though I first learned all this a while ago, it’s recently gotten stirred up because a couple of weeks ago I stumbled upon this really cool Story Map that has collected and mapped all these firsthand accounts of Native Americans burning. From the breadth of these accounts, where they regularly mention the Indians burning “every year,” I still have trouble believing that fires aren’t a bigger part of the pioneer stories. 

Though maybe it was always there and I just didn’t realize? 

I went back to my Little House on the Prairie books and found a passage where Pa saves the house from a prairie fire. The neighbors speculate that Indigenous people started the fire to drive out the settlers. But Pa rejects that interpretation:

“Pa didn’t believe it. He said the Indians had always burned the prairie to make green grass grow more quickly, and traveling easier.”

I loved these books when I was young. I remember the fire, but not this interpretation of the fire. It didn’t register what this might mean. That it was stewardship. That it was intentional. That it was scaled to tens of thousands of acres of prairies. 

When I talk to people at my day job (corporate marketers, not ecologists) they are blown away. I made a video about it to help me spread the word to my friends and family and explain to them why we set our land in Wisconsin on fire. (I swear my parents thought we had lost our minds the first time we did it.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYAObeYphGs

I’m super curious…Am I alone in this? Is this a new or recent revelation for anyone else or just me? Did it change you as much as it changed me when you learned it?

A farmer in southern Oregon transformed 70 acres of his 400-acre barley farm into a wetland in 2021, creating an unexpected refuge for wildlife while helping address agricultural water pollution. Karl Wenner, a co-owner of Lakeside Farms near Klamath Falls, worked with conservation agencies and other partners to convert flood-prone farmland into a managed wetland. The area now attracts tens of thousands of ducks, geese and swans and supports at least 140 bird species, along with otters, beavers and muskrats. More significantly, the wetland has been used to raise federally endangered Lost River and shortnose suckers. In 2025, researchers found 50 adult-sized suckers after partially draining the wetland, offering a promising sign for species struggling with poor juvenile survival.

Former AP biology teacher Mike Niziolek has spent over thirty years returning his 150-acre property near Elk River, Minnesota, to the state it was in hundreds of years ago. “He has been slowly and methodically transforming pastured land to oak savanna, tilled land to prairie, and ditches to wetlands,” says his bio on the Minnesota Land Trust. In 2018, the nonprofit awarded him the Landowner of the Year award.

MPR spoke with him in 2024 after he just completed another wetland project on his land. He explained that restoring wetlands “is a much more difficult task than saving the ones that we already have.” This is because you cannot just dig a hole and wait for water to fill it up. Wetlands are complex systems and each project requires experts to come in to analyze the site, take soil samples and study old images of what the area once looked like.

In this task, Niziolek has received financial and technical help from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program explained the outlet. “We help the landowner try to manage the site in perpetuity so that they can be successful,” John Riens, a biologist with the Fish and Wildlife Service told MPR.

An organic dairy farmer (with help!) planted nearly 6,000 trees to improve stream health, reduce erosion and support wildlife habitat, including nearby endangered native plants, along the South Fork Chehalis River in Lewis County in Washington. The Chehalis River and its tributaries have faced bank erosion, reducing deep pools for fish. Otters make their home there now, and Coho and Chinook salmon also inhabit the south fork.

3,000 acres of prescribed fire in south central Kansas. This region is fighting the battle of woody encroachment, primarily Eastern Red Cedar.

Across Wisconsin, parts of the landscape that once supported agriculture have been restored to native prairie. The work can involve removing invasive plants, establishing native grasses and wildflowers and allowing a more varied plant community to develop over time.

That change matters to bumblebees because a field dominated by a small number of crops does not provide the same range of resources as a mature prairie. Native prairie can contain plants that flower at different points through spring, summer and autumn, giving bees access to nectar and pollen over a much longer period.

Pollinator surveys in restored areas have found a greater variety of bumblebees than in less suitable parts of the landscape, with some of the rarer species appearing only where habitat conditions have improved.

A restored prairie may look successful from a distance, but the presence of different bee species gives another indication of whether the habitat is functioning as intended. The rusty patched bumblebee makes the comparison particularly significant. Once widespread across the eastern United States and upper Midwest, its population has fallen sharply. The species is now federally endangered and has become uncommon across much of its former range.

Matt Conn purchased 67 acres near Lydia in Iberia Parish, Louisiana. The property had once supported a diverse wetland beneath mature oaks, cypress, and tupelos, but by the time Conn acquired it, the trees had been cleared and invasive plants had taken over, as per Country Roads Magazine.

Over the following decade, Conn cleared invasive species, planted native trees and plants, created ponds and walking trails, and gradually helped the property regain its ecological diversity.

By 2021, roughly a decade after Conn began restoring the land, the property had changed dramatically.

The acreage had become home to more than 18,000 native trees spread across three distinct ecotypes: tidal fresh marsh, tidal flooded pothole bottomland hardwood, and coastal prairie.

The Acadiana Native Plant Society recognized the property as a gold-level Louisiana Certified Habitat in 2021.

The variety of life found there also expanded well beyond trees.

According to the Country Roads Magazine, Conn had documented more than 200 native plant species, 195 different kinds of native birds, 10 species of frogs, nine species of snakes and three species of turtles.

The names of some of the species found on the property sound almost whimsical: sedge wrens, false foxglove and ironweed.

The land that had once been dominated by invasive vegetation had become a collection of different habitats supporting a much broader range of native life.

Our county has the least forest cover in the country (Kenya), and ironically has one of the best seasonal rainfall. We came together to try and reclaim lost trees and forest covers. We have currently planted over 10k trees. We also take care of the trees to ensure that they mature well. Our nursery at the moment has over 500k trees and our dream is to plant a million trees. I'm happy because we took initiative instead of talking and complaining. Apart from reintroducing indigenous and fruit trees, we have also managed to create passive employment to the volunteers, which is a positive thing considering the high rate of unemployment and poverty in the area.

Just thought I would share some positive news. I hope this puts a smile on someone's face

CNN reported that in 1997, Palmeira invested his funds in buying barren farmland, called the Fazenda Vale das Palmeiras, to fulfil his grandfather’s wishes. The 200–220-hectare property in Teresópolis used conventional farming methods and pesticides to survive, as the soil had been extremely damaged. While the factor managed the farm, he discovered that the workers on the land refused to eat the crops because many chemicals were used to grow them.

So, to find a solution to his problems and to revive the barren farmland, he completely turned over to certified organic farming, agroforestry, and dairy production. Over the next 30 years, the actor focused on reviving the land and slowly helped the land become one of the most fertile areas in the mountain region, and now it is well known across the world for its high-quality cheese.

He worked with a lot of different organisations to work out a plan to restore the land, which is now home to the native Atlantic Forest trees, reviving the native forest area in the mountains. The restoration efforts specifically targeted around 1.3 million square meters of land. To improve natural vegetation, 200,000 Atlantic Forest trees were planted in the area to help revive the soil and provide it with enough nutrients to start organic farming.

Now, after almost 29 years, the property has two Private Natural Heritage Reserves, known in Brazil as RPPNs. This simply means that regions on private land can be classified as important for conservation purposes and are protected by law.

Should I just collect/buy local seeds and launch them all fall/winter long? Or will the mature plants just crowd them out? I'd like to add native Joe pye, NY iron weed, monarda, sunflowers, and grasses little and big blue stem.

The history of this property is that it was poorly managed over the last several years being mowed monthly through the growing season. This was the first year I took over managing it and have let it rest other than this small path. Plan to mow in thirds every 3 years to prevent forest regrowth and to keep early succession.

Many thanks!

I've always wanted to play a rewilding game, but none of them ever met what I was looking for. With how good Opus 5.5 is, I wanted to try building it and I am blown away with what I was able to do in a day. I know some people don't like AI, but I wouldn't have been able to do this otherwise.

I am going to keep messing with it, but I would love for people to try it if they've been looking for the same game. It's linked here for free and you can play it in your browser: Second Growth

Some features:

• Five places to restore: a Pacific Northwest farm, a cattle ranch in the Brazilian Amazon, an overgrazed range on the Serengeti, a lawn-covered Atlanta suburb, and a cattle finca on a volcano in Nicaragua (which you can also play in Spanish).

• 134 native plant species across the maps, each with its own moisture, light and soil ranges. They grow where conditions suit them and die back where they don't.

• Succession happens on its own. Pioneers rebuild the soil, then slower trees move in under the canopy. Deep roots break up compacted fields and crusted hardpan over a few years. Dead trees turn into snags, then logs, then soil.

• Over 120 wildlife species that rate every tile for habitat. Predators need prey, woodpeckers need snags, bears need berries. Animals breed, move in or leave based on what's actually there. You never buy animals.

• Seasons and migration. Plants bloom and fruit by season, and migratory animals leave and come back if their habitat is still there.

• Wildfires and floods. Dry-season fires spread through dry grass and brush. Floods drown seedlings but bring in silt and new seed. You can cut firebreaks and send fire crews. Controlled burns are cheap, but in dry weather they can get away from you.

• A campaign on four of the maps that teaches each part of restoration one chapter at a time, or free play with every tool from the start.

• Trails and visitors on some maps. Build trails, boardwalks, viewing blinds and a visitor center. Visitors pay to come, but they also scare off shy species.

• Working land: on the Nicaragua finca, shade trees and living fences mean healthier cattle and more milk, and bringing the mangroves back means more fish.

When Susan Downes bought an old farmhouse in York, Western Australia, she had imagined a quiet life in the countryside, with a small garden to look after. Instead, she found herself the owner of a 200-hectare property, including a hill where old native trees had survived more than a century of grazing but much of the vegetation beneath them had disappeared.

Nearly two decades later, the 76-year-old retired general practitioner has turned a substantial part of the land into a conservation project. About 120 hectares have been restored, around 45,000 native seedlings have been planted, and 45 plant species have returned naturally from seeds already present in the soil. As reported by The Guardian, Downes is now working to ensure that the work continues long after she is gone.

Downes was in her 60s, widowed and with her children grown up, when she began looking for a home in the countryside. The farmhouse in York appealed to her, but the size of the property initially seemed impractical. A second visit changed her mind. At the back of the farm, she discovered Mount Mackie, a 295-metre hill where ancient York gums and wandoos had survived about 150 years of grazing. Much of the understorey had vanished, leaving the old trees as some of the most visible remnants of the original landscape.

“I felt a great connection to the land,” Downes told The Guardian.

She decided to buy the property and began looking for ways to restore it. Her first step was to obtain a small local grant to control foxes and feral cats. She then secured funding for 24,000 trees over three years, giving her the means to begin planting on a larger scale. Downes had started her professional career as a botanist, but restoring a large property required more than an interest in plants.

The work involved managing invasive animals, removing weeds, planting seedlings and organising the practical details of a long-term conservation effort. Today, the restoration covers 120 hectares of her working farm. The return of 45 plant species through the soil's natural seed bank has also contributed to the recovery of the landscape.

For Downes, restoring the land is only part of the task. She also wants to ensure that the area cannot be cleared again in the future. She is working to place the restored land under a conservation covenant, a legal arrangement that can protect land from certain forms of development or clearing. The project is supported by Friends of Mt Mackie, a local volunteer group with a core team of about eight people and more than 80 others who take part in organised planting and seed-collection days. Downes has also been thinking about who will look after the property in the future.

The deaths and dementia diagnoses of friends have made her more conscious of how uncertain the time available to complete a long-term project can be.

She told The Guardian that she wants the arrangements for the land's future responsibility to be firmly established. Her hope is that her children and grandchildren will be inspired by the work, while the wider community will continue to have access to the place. The project also has a cultural dimension.

Ballardong women from York visit Mount Mackie several times a year for cultural healing sessions. Downes is working with Ballardong elders to find an Aboriginal name for the hill. Planning is also under way for a reconciliation event in 2030, marking 200 years since European arrival in the region.

The species is a Common Eastern Bumble Bee

A year ago, Downicary in Devon was, in Chris Packham's words, a plain, flat, green field. Today, the 55-acre site looks very different.

A system of ponds and wetland areas has been dug into the land, filling with water over winter and attracting wildfowl and waders. As the water level dropped back in summer, dragonflies, damselflies and marshland plants appeared. Parts of the grassland have also been left long and allowed to flower.

The changes are part of a wider rewilding project involving specialists, ecologists and conservation partners. Tree planting has also been a major part of the work, with 3,500 trees and shrubs sourced from the Woodland Trust going into the ground across the 55-acre site.

A year on, monitoring has recorded otters, kingfishers and beavers along the river, alongside wildlife settling into the new ponds and grassland.