Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco is the Midwest regional reporter for Grist and WBEZ Chicago. He previously covered waterways, wildlife, and agriculture for the Mississippi River Basin Agriculture and Water Desk, Harvest Public Media, and WNIJ Northern Public Radio.
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How America’s prairie was nearly destroyed — and why it should be restored
In Sea of Grass: The Conquest, Ruin, and Redemption of Nature on the American Prairie, longtime Minnesota journalists Dave Hage and Josephine Marcotty trace this staggering transformation. “The Europeans who colonized North America in the 19th century transformed the continent’s hydrology as thoroughly as the glaciers,” they write. “But, remarkably, they did it in less than 100 years instead of tens of thousands.”
June 24, 2025
