Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Area Project Receives Funds From Trust Fund

The Stella Boyle Smith Trust recently awarded $60,000 to The Nature Conservancy's Blackland Ecosystem project in southwest Arkansas.

These blackland prairies and woodlands are known for their spectacular wild flower displays and provide habitat for several rare animal and plant species including purple beard tongue and eared false foxglove. Of the 12 million acres of original blackland prairie in the United States, fewer than 10,000 acres of this vanishing ecosystem remain.

Blackland prairies and woodlands are characterized by a deep mantle of black soil with an abundant amount of organic material which overlays a bed of chalk or marl. The marl was formed by shellfish beds that were present when the Gulf of Mexico covered the area during the Cretaceous period, 150 million years ago, scientists say. More than 800 plant and animal species have been identified within the blackland ecosystem, and mosasaur bones and other fossils have been found.

The Nature Conservancy is working on inventory, management and restoration of several blackland sites in southwest Arkansas. All of the areas are open to the public and managed as nature preserves for the rare animals and plants that live there.