{"product_id":"the-prairie-peninsula-9781606353202","title":"The Prairie Peninsula","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe prairie grassland biome covers the heartland of North America with an eastward extension called the Prairie Peninsula. Primarily composed of tallgrass prairie, this biome lies between the shortgrass prairies of the west and the eastern deciduous forest region and includes the states of Illinois, Indiana, southeastern Wisconsin, and Ohio.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith text by coauthors Gary Meszaros and Guy L. Denny and striking photographs by Meszaros, \u003ci\u003eThe Prairie Peninsula \u003c\/i\u003eexamines the many prairie types, floristic composition, and animals that are part of this ecosystem. It took only 50 years for 150 million acres of tallgrass prairie to disappear under the steel plow, transforming the Prairie Peninsula into fields of corn and wheat. Today, only a few thousand acres of this endangered ecosystem remain in small parcels, some just a few acres each. The second half of the 19th century brought the mass slaughter of prairie wildlife. By 1900, like the prairie they roamed, the plains bison, gray wolf, and eastern elk became extirpated east of the Mississippi River.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Prairie Peninsula \u003c\/i\u003ealso tells the story of the early settlers and the hardships they endured. Thousands died of milk sickness and malaria, with prairie fires sending flames 30 feet into the air and stretched across the horizon, destroying everything in their path. Today, many of these pioneers lie buried in cemeteries comprising prairie remnants, fragments of the primeval land they tried to tame. The authors investigate these and other surviving prairie remnants and current efforts to save these traces of original North American grassland.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBoth Gary Meszaros and Guy L. Denny have traveled extensively throughout the Midwest, studying the animal and floristic composition of original prairie remnants.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Kent State University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 06\/15\/2017\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781606353202\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 136\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.24lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.90h x 7.90w x 0.50d","brand":"Gary Meszaros, Guy L. Denny","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43075515875509,"sku":"9781606353202","price":21.21,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_5cf6ba38-66f7-4c28-a3e9-c4dd91d599ec.jpg?v=1691467785","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/the-prairie-peninsula-9781606353202","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}