Wisdom of the prairie

Retired MU ecology professor Clair Kucera poses with big bluestem, a grass native to Missouri, in Tucker Prairie on Aug. 11. Kucera said the plant is one of his favorites. "It's tall and dominant-looking," he said.   ¦  Jim Buell

Clair Kucera has been listening to the voice of Tucker Prairie for more than half a century.

On Sept. 13, 1958, Kucera led donors, scientists and university representatives on a tour of Tucker Prairie to celebrate its purchase by MU from the Tucker family. It was Kucera who encouraged then-MU University President Elmer Ellis to buy the 160-acre prairie and who wrote a grant proposal that led the National Science Foundation to pay for half the purchase price of $200 an acre.

To learn more about Tucker Prairie and Clair Kucera, click here.