AT ITS MOST PEACEFUL, the Indiangrass Preserve in
southeast Texas is hushed and still. Its springtime
canvas is lush with prairie grass; monarch butterflies
cling to yellow tickseed flowers as eastern bluebirds
circle overhead. Come summer, rains will douse its
shallow wetlands, where bobcats pause to drink as
they prowl for cottontails.
An agrochemical research facility occupied part
of the site as recently as 2001. Then the Katy Prairie
Conservancy restored the land into a nature preserve.
Since 1992 the conservancy has protected more
than 18,000 acres of Texas land that otherwise might
have been developed, says Elisa Donovan, its vice
president and general counsel. The conservancy has
championed tallgrass prairie and wetlands, plentiful
species, and rare ones, such as the crawfish frog and
the western chicken turtle. Its latest project aims to
restore and preserve the natural state of land that
will welcome the living—and also the dead.BY XANDER PETERSCONSERVATIONISTS SEE CEMETERIES AS A TOOL TO PRESERVE LAND,
NATURALLY—AND DETER RUNAWAY DEVELOPMENT.
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IN THIS SECTION
Surfing Mountains
Sea Glass Doubles
Walruses’ Songs
Footprints of FoodsNATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC VOL. 241 NO. 4EXPLORE
A Way for Nature
to Rest in Peace
ILLUMINATING THE MYSTERIES—AND WONDERS—ALL AROUND US EVERY DAYAPRIL 2022 15