Montevideo, Minn., to add native prairie to Smith Addition

MONTEVIDEO -- Work will get under way this summer to convert about 15 acres of the Smith Addition to a native prairie and riparian landscape.

Montevideo City Council members this week approved moving forward with the project in partnership with the Chippewa River Watershed Project, according to City Manager Steve Jones.

The Watershed Project has obtained $6,000 in funding to provide materials and seed to restore native grasses and wildflowers in the area. The city will commit staff labor for the project.

The restoration will occur in a seven-acre area along the Chippewa River and also adjoining five- and two-acre parcels on the western side of the Smith Addition.

In both areas, houses have been acquired and removed or will soon be removed as part of the flood mitigation work there.

The targeted areas currently consist of residential lawns and trees.

This year's work will include three separate herbicide applications to kill the existing turf grasses before native prairie grasses and flowers can be seeded. It is expected to take two to three years for the native plants to be fully established.

It's possible that a walking trail could be developed in the area as well, according to Jones.