Audubon Great Plains staff provides bird-focused education, activities, and outdoor excitement for Prairie Fest attendees.

If you spend a day on the South Dakota prairie with its rustling grasses, bright blooms, open skies, and rich wildlife, then it’s easy to understand why so many people are passionate about conserving it. Grasslands are vibrant natural landscapes with great ecological, cultural, and economic importance. South Dakota was once almost entirely covered by grasslands and native prairie. Today, less than half of this original ecosystem remains.

At Good Earth State Park southeast of Sioux Falls, the South Dakota Grasslands Coalition hosted a free, all-ages event to celebrate grasslands last August.…