The Guerilla Campaign to Save a Texas Prairie From “Silent Extinction”

The guerilla campaign to save a Texas prairie from “silent extinction”

By Laura Mallonee, Grist July 28, 2025 “The guerilla campaign to save a Texas prairie from “silent extinction”” was first published by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues. Sign up for The Brief, The Texas Tribune’s daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. This story was p…

The guerrilla campaign to save a Texas prairie from 'silent extinction'

One sunny sunny morning in May, four high school students stood on a flower-dappled prairie in southern Dallas holding shovels. Before them swayed a Texas blazing star, a tall and spindly stalk that erupts in a bottlebrush of purple florets. Max Yan, a senior, made two putts on either side of the imperiled member of the aster family and was beginning to wedge it out when a siren wailed in the distance. He froze, his foot on the blade. There were…

The guerilla campaign to save a Texas prairie from "silent extinction"

Students and naturalists have been sneaking onto private land to extricate threatened native plants: “This is a war between us and the developers, and nobody’s calling uncle.”

The Youth-Led Guerilla Campaign Fighting Prairie Extinction in Texas

One sunny sunny morning in May, four high school students stood on a flower-dappled prairie in southern Dallas holding shovels, fighting prairie extinction in Texas. Before them swayed a Texas blazing star, a tall and spindly stalk that erupts in a bottlebrush of purple florets. Max Yan, a senior, made two putts on either side of the imperiled member of the aster family and was beginning to wedge it out when a siren wailed in the distance. He fr…

The guerilla campaign to save a Texas prairie from ‘silent extinction’

One sunny morning in early May, four high school boys stood on a flower-dappled prairie in southern Dallas holding shovels. On the ground before them stood a Texas blazing star, an imperiled member of the aster family. The oldest boy, a senior, made two putts on either side of the plant and was beginning to wedge it out when a police siren sounded. He paused, his foot on the blade. There were no signs or fences barring entry to this place. But i…