1^st Annual Prairie Festival 
Succeeds Beyond Expectations
by Ellen Roots McBride
erootsmcbride(at)aol.com

The 1st Annual Prairie Festival in Lubbock, TX, on August 21 was an unqualified success!  When our doors opened at 10:00 a.m., there were people waiting to get in and a steady stream of visitors enjoyed our wide range of exhibitors and engaging speakers the entire day.   We kept an accurate count of participants and, at the end of the day when we had hoped to have maybe 500 visitors, we were astounded to find that over 700 people had come to see the Festival.  There were many families with young children who were entertained my interactive booths with live animals and wildlife educational games.  Adults could find anything from information on planting native species, grassland ecology restoration, wildlife research, environmental responsibility and much more.  Speakers gave some very lively and well-attended presentations that covered a wide range of prairie topics.

The purpose of the festival is to raise awareness and appreciation for prairie habitat and species in a time when they are rapidly disappearing from our region.  Short-grass prairie is home to many unique flora and fauna, including the symbiotic (and therefore dependent) relationship between Burrowing Owls and Black-tailed Prairie Dogs.  In his 2002 book, "Texas Natural History, A Century of Change," mammalogist Dr. David Schmidly quotes Long from 1998, "Today, it is estimated that 98 percent of the population has been lost, and that only three hundred thousand prairie dogs remain in Texas."  This reduction is due both to massive eradication efforts (due to misconceptions about their nature and affect on rangeland) and habitat loss.  Field trips that were offered on August 22 showed participants many of the plant and animal species that are found in our region, discussed some of the historical and geological background, and illustrated how landowners are managing their private property with native species in mind.

Throughout the Prairie Festival we heard the same thing, "You need to do this again next year, but make it bigger!"  So, we are delighted by the response of the community of Lubbock and, indeed, the state of Texas as we had visitors from as far away as San Antonio and Tyler. 

We are in the process of catching our breath and recovering, but rest assured we do plan on having a 2nd Annual Prairie Festival and we hope you will be able to attend.  This year’s festival could not have occurred without the sponsorship of many organizations.  We are enormously grateful to the following for their support:

Prairie Dog Level: >$500.00
Llano Estacado Audubon Society – Lubbock, TX
Lubbock Convention and Visitors Bureau – Lubbock, TX
National Audubon Society – Austin, TX
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service – Albuquerque, NM

Burrowing Owl Level: $301.00 - 500.00
Texas Ornithological Society – Kerrville, TX
Fermata Inc. – Austin, TX

Texas Horned Lizard Level: $101.00 - 300.00
South Plains Wildlife Rehabilitation Center – Lubbock, TX
Jason Hodges, Prairie Workshop – Lubbock, TX
Great Plains Restoration Council – Ft. Worth, TX
Native Prairies Association of Texas – Georgetown, TX
Jeffery Mundy – Austin, TX

Buffalo Grass Level: $1.00 - 100.00
Kent Rylander, Ph.D. – Junction, TX
Nancy McIntyre, Ph.D. – Lubbock, TX
Lynn Barber – Ft. Worth, TX
Ft. Worth Audubon Society, TX
Margaret Blacker – Lubbock, TX
Tom Gill, Ph.D. – Lubbock, TX
United Supermarkets – Lubbock, TX
Sam's Club – Lubbock, TX
Rawge – Elverta, CA
Sandra Schriever – Dallas, TX
Lil' Footprints – Lubbock, TX
Albertson's – Lubbock, TX
Lubbock Friends Meeting – Lubbock, TX
Ogallala Commons  – Plainview, TX

Updated 19 July 2006.