During a gathering at a local wildlife management area, the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture announced a new research and education initiative that should benefit wildlife and communities throughout the state, region and nation.

The new Mid-South Center for Native Grassland Management will focus on environmental stewardship research and education using native grasses and associated vegetation. Funding for the Center was made possible through a $250,000 grant from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) and a $70,000 grant from the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).

A $50,000 gift from the Alcoa Foundation is funding the Center’s initial project.

“Grasslands are among the fastest disappearing ecosystems in the nation, and they are essential for stabilizing soil and improving water quality,” said Larry Wilson, professor and interim head of the UT Department of Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries. The Center will fall under the administrative umbrella of that department.

Representatives from UT and the granting agencies toured TWRA’s Forks of the River Wildlife Management Area, which will serve as one of the sites for grassland research. UT faculty member Billy Minser, who has campaigned for the establishment of the Center, led the tour. He explained the essential role that grasslands serve as habitat for many species of wildlife, especially certain threatened songbirds.

Buddy Mitchell, UT interim vice president for agriculture, was pleased that Alcoa could fund a project so close to home. “The Alcoa Foundation’s grant is specifically for environmental stewardship research and education in Blount and Knox counties,” he said. “The project’s goals include educating landowners and conservation professionals and helping individual landowners in Blount and Knox counties develop stream buffers and field borders using native grasses and associated flora.”

The Alcoa gift will also fund research and demonstration plots on TWRA wildlife management areas as well as sponsor summer internships for UT Wildlife and Fisheries Science students.

Wilson said a nationwide search is being conducted for a wildlife ecologist and grassland expert to coordinate the Center’s efforts and development. He hopes to name the successful candidate by mid summer.

Both Mitchell and Wilson are pleased with the Center’s initial support from government agencies and private industry; however, Mitchell cautions that more funding is needed for the long term.

“We are working to establish a $2 million endowment to permanently enhance the Center,” he said.

Minser explained that the need is urgent. “Native grasses and associated plants provide habitat for the nation’s most critically imperiled group of birds, the grassland birds,” he said. “Our region is home to some of the most extensive native grasslands in the nation. Our goal is to preserve and protect them and to re-establish native grassland habitat in areas where they have disappeared due to growth and development,” he said.