16 THE) A:UWIDIU'B°OIN” Bi int Ee iia 
although his Americanized son, who likes to hunt, might. To a 
briar-scratched man who wears the dog whistle and the fence- 
ripped hunting pants, the bobwhite is the bird—the one high 
above other game birds. A hunter calls a pheasant a pheasant, 
a duck a duck, but there is only one bird and that is the bob- 
white quail. To me, a pheasant cock is a bold rogue. The 
bobwhite is a gallant gentleman. 
—TIllinots Dept. of Conservation, Springfield 
lt Takes A King's Ransom 
To Save A Prairie 
(Reprinted from “Badger Sportsman,” Chilton, Wisconsin) 
By BETTY GROTH 
In the 150th year of our prairie statehood, we look back with nostalgia to the 
miles on miles of beautiful prairie grasses and wildflowers—vast sweeps of 
which were free to our ancestors, the early homesteaders. 
Then we turn to today to give one who has spent hours, weeks, months 
and several years trying to save five and one-half acres of virgin prairie for 
a king’s ransom of $200,000. 
Undisturbed nature, with its ever-changing beauty in the four seasons, 
brings to man today four sets of values: aesthetic, educational, historic, 
and scientific. This virgin, mesic, black-soil prairie of wild beauty lies 
in a county where nature is habitually burned, bulldozed and branded 
for industrial expansion and urban sprawl. So the effort to save five and 
one-half acres today falls under the heading of a miracle. 
Our award winner, who would be the first to give credit for help to 
other conservationists and organizations, was the first to start knocking 
cn neighborhood doors near the prairie to get signatures to urge that this 
land be preserved. Next steps followed with appalling disappointments and 
opposition. Here are some of the hardships and setbacks encountered, be- 
yound which few of us would have had the courage to pursue: 
Apathy, disinterest and down-right hostility of some prairie neighbors 
and fellow citizens—important key people who are impressed, pleasant, 
but absolutely immovable—local newspapers, which changed reporters, 
who began to sneer at the prairie. 
Almost futile efforts spending long hours researching records on the 
prairie property, handwritten records in some of the oldest county books, 
poor representation or none from the local town at critical open meetings, 
important leaders thinking miles apart on what to do with the prairie. 
Irate resentment of President of Park Board (a plumber in town) at 
receiving so much mail to save a prairie. What GOOD is this prairie to 
our LOCAL citizens. Can they USE it for a picnie area? 
SHOCKING DEBRIS DUMPED in the lovely, wild prairie—doors, 
fences, rugs, dolls, balls, Christmas trees, furniture, tires, rubbish! 
SCOUT LEADERS who wouldn’t approve Scouts helping to remove 
debris!—Expense of truck rentals to carry away debris—expense of dump- 
ing debris—five truckloads, truck finally driven by award winner, contribu- 
tions collected from door-to-door to pay for truck rental and dumping. 
