From Invasive Plants to Native Seeds: Restoring JBLM’s Prairie Oak Preserve

On Aug. 27, volunteers gathered at Joint Base Lewis-McChord’s Prairie Oak Preserve to continue a multi‑year effort to restore one of the installation’s… On Aug. 27, volunteers gathered at Joint Base Lewis-McChord’s Prairie Oak Preserve to continue a multi‑year effort to restore one of the installation’s rarest and most important habitats. What began years ago as a push to remove invasive Scotch broom has grown into a collaborative, community-driven restoration project, one that is now returning native plants and renewed green space back to JBLM. More than 20 volunteers joined the latest event, which focused on planting native camas and chocolate lily seeds using handmade seed balls. With soil, compost, sand, and water, volunteers shaped hundreds of small seed-filled spheres and worked across the preserve to place them in areas cleared for planting.

Others removed moss and dense grass to expose pockets of bare soil, ensuring the seeds could contact the ground and have the best chance to take root. Additional volunteers continued removing Scotch broom, adding to years of steady progress. The transformation of Prairie Oak Preserve has not happened overnight. When restoration work first began — records show events dating back almost ten years — Scotch broom grew so thick that the area was difficult to walk through, let alone enjoy as a natural open space. Through repeated