Palouse Prairie Conservation and Restoration
The WSU Arboretum and Conservation Center contains a Palouse Prairie restoration plots that were initially started about 10 years ago, prior to the creation of the current Arboretum. It will take many years, in fact, an unknown number of years to create a prairie landscape that resembles that of the former Palouse Prairie that once occupied this site. However, the management activities at this restored, or recreated prairie, will provide useful data on Palouse Prairie restoration that can be applied on other sites.
In addition to the Palouse Prairie landscape being restored on the campus landscape, the WSU Arboretum also assists with the management of several tracts of native Palouse Prairie near Pullman, Washington. These Palouse Prairie ecological reserves are valuable educational and research tools for faculty and students interested in conservation of biological diversity and ecological restoration.