You’re restoring your habitat – but what native plants are the best fit?
That’s where Presto comes in. Prairie Restorations is excited to announce Presto: Our Native Plant Selector Tool.
Prairie Restorations founder, Ron Bowen, had a vision in 1998 to create a tool that helps with the tough question of “Which native species are right for my site?”. Ron and his friend Clarence Lehman, both very ecologically minded people, created the first ever version of Presto that used historical data to map the location of 200 Minnesota native plant species. Along with geographic location, they used the plants soil, sunlight, and moisture preferences to create the first informational tool that helps with native species selection.
Unfortunately the vision of Presto in it’s early years was never fully acknowledged or brought to light. Presto’s knowledge sat on a shelf for roughly 25 years until 2023 when Ron knocked the dust off and revitalized Presto’s mission.
Since 2023, many staff members at Prairie Restorations used their extensive knowledge of ecology to refine, rebuild, and bring Presto back to life. Today, Presto now uses roughly 370 native plant species and we have expanded our borders beyond Minnesota to North & South Dakotas, Wisconsin, and Iowa. Among those roughly 370 species, we have added trees and shrubs to aid in creating a more well-rounded species list.
Recreating a thriving prairie takes many, many years of knowledge to match the correct species to the specific site variables of a project area. Not everyone has time to delve into which species are right for their project. Presto solves for this by using 50+ years of ecological and historical data to generate a list of species that fit your specific soil, sunlight, and moisture levels of your site.
Most importantly, Presto uses your precise geographic location to determine if a native species was historically present in your area. To truly restore a native habitat, the species that you plant should depend on whether that species was historically present (before European settlement). These native species are adapted to the soil, weather, and conditions of your area, thus giving you more success in your restoration. Local ecotype species also are able to support a wider range of insect, animal and soil microbe species.
Presto’s usability has historically been limited to Prairie Restorations staff in aid of project installation. Going forward, Presto will be available to the public to help landowners in their efforts to restore native habitat. With an updated user interface, revised species list, a library of plant knowledge, and better usability, Presto will become your ultimate guide in native habitat restoration.
Presto is a simple, easy to use program that takes into account your geographic location, sunlight amount, soil type, and moisture levels to generate a customized species list for your project.
Three easy steps to Presto:
Presto is here to make planting decisions easier, while helping restore the landscapes we all care about. Stay tuned and see what Presto can do for you and your project!
