Explore a remnant prairie and savanna ecosystem as well as adjacent oak woods to see Michigan as it was around the time of settlement. Many of the prairie species found here have been eliminated elsewhere in the region. Prescribed fire has been used to combat invasive species and encourage native species as part of our work in restoration ecology.
 
The prairie is being restored at Alex Dow Field. Early spring is the season of the controlled burns - the prairie needs the summer heat to get into its major growth phase. Big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii) dominates the prairie - by midsummer it is much taller than any visitor.
 
As summer progresses into fall, common species in bloom include: butterflyweed (Asclepias tuberosa), sky blue aster (Aster oolentangiensis), smooth aster (Aster laevis), Bicknell's sedge (Carex bicknellii), yellow coneflower (Ratibida pinnata), black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta), little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium), prairie dock (Silphium terebinthinaceum), stiff goldenrod (Solidago rigida), showy goldenrod (Solidago speciosa), Indian grass (Sorghastrum nutans), ironweed (Vernonia missurica) and Culver's root (Veronicastrum virginicum).
 
The prairie supports healthy population of thirteen-lined ground squirrels (Spermophilus tridecemlineatus), meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus) and northern short-tailed shrews (Blarina brevidcauda) as well as attracting birds and insects of many types.

The Alex Dow Field is at the Nichols Arboretum site.

The 36-acre property known as the Alex Dow Field was deeded to the University by Detroit Edison in 1943. Alex Dow worked for the Detroit Edison Company in its era of constructing hydroelectric dams along the Huron River.

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