Sea of Grass: The Conquest, Ruin, and Redemption of Nature on the American Prairie — 4.4 Stars
- Jan 27
- 3 min read
January Book Club Discussion
01/27/2026
“The return of wild bison to the West is just one of many signs that the prairie ecosystem, too, might yet survive its brush with extinction.”
Have you ever visited a prairie? What was your first impression? Maybe you were driving or biking across the country. Were you bored by what seemed to be a monochromatic, never-ending expanse of brown grass? Or did you stop frequently, walk out into that grass, feel the wind and the hot sun or stinging drizzle, and just listen?
In Sea of Grass, authors Dave Hage and Josephine Marcotty, both former environmental reporters at the Minneapolis Star Tribune, trace the tragic disappearance and near extinction of the American prairie. The 98th Meridian, which lies just beyond Minnesota’s western border, approximates where the eastern tall grass prairie met the mixed-grass and shortgrass prairies prior to European colonization. Today, only 1% of the tall-grass prairie remains and the dry western shortgrass prairie is disappearing at the rate of one million acres a year – a rate faster than that of the Amazon rainforest. The book discusses the environmental benefits of prairies, including carbon sequestration, holding soil in place, and water retention and filtration. When prairies disappear, so do those benefits. Key to their disappearance were invention of the steel plow by John Deere, the discovery of how to harness nitrogen from the air to grow crops, the development of systems to drain wetlands so they could be planted to crops, and plant breeding of corn and soybeans focused on fewer days to maturity and pesticide resistance.
Fortunately, there are success stories of communities and environmental groups banding together to undo some of the damage done by the loss of our prairie habitat. One shining example is Glacial Ridge Natural Wildlife Refuge in northwestern Minnesota’s Mississiippi Headwaters and Northern Tallgrass Prairie ecosystems. At 60 thousand acres, this is the largest prairie restoration project in U.S. history.
The Book Club readers overwhelmingly agreed that this is an excellent book. It raised questions about individual vs. community rights and awareness of how economic changes in people’s lives often drive changes in the environment. Here are some of the comments.
Packed with information, maybe a bit too depressing.
The prairie is the dominant physical characteristic of our country, but human ingenuity has transformed it in ways that are harmful to life on earth. Thank goodness for individuals and organizations that are restoring prairies we can visit.
Reader Poll
Enjoyable - 4.4 out of 5 stars
Educational - 4.1 out of 5 stars
Recommended - 4.6 out of 5 stars
Reader Comments
"It added somewhat to my climate grief, but the many ways people are working to restore the prairie ecosystems made me hopeful."
"I had no idea how complex and valuable the prairies are. Very sad how much was destroyed but encouraging that some restoration is underway. I'm interested in visiting. Also enjoyed learning about buffalo and their evolution with the prairie."
"I love how the authors gave a historical review of how man changed the prairies into farmland."
"Liked info on history of the prairies & the characteristics of the different kinds of prairies, the part that wildlife plays, all the bison info, the part humans played in the destruction of the prairie."
"First part made me angry with the destruction and poisoning of our waterways and refusal to correct or prevent further destruction. Was encouraged in the last 3 chapters but still the progress is slow."
Next Book Club Discussion
The next book selected for discussion is Is a River Alive? by Robert Macfarlane.
The book is available from the Ramsey County Library system book, an eBook, and as an audiobook.
