There’s a great story in the Wisconsin State Journal — Companies turn to prairies – about Madison area companies that are using prairie plants in their landscapes instead of blue grass. They see prairie as an investment that will payoff in lower maintenance costs, once plants establish themselves.

“It makes good environmental and business sense, ” Says Alliiant Energy’s Rob Crain said. “We wanted something that was native to the state of Wisconsin. We wanted to have an environment that ’s sustainable for the climate we ‘re in. Going with native plants assured that process would take place. “

Prairies are sustainable. They are habitat for birds and other animals. They don’t require fertilizer, watering or weekly mowings. They look great even in a dry summer.

Several companies in the Rockford are using prairie to lower maintenance costs and to help absorb runoff from roofs and parking lots. One of them is Specialty Screw, 2801 Huffman Blvd. Specialty has four acres of prairie behind its factory. Owner Russ Johansson is working to make his company greener. He’s giving a talk on Thursday, Sept. 6, to the Downtown Rockford Rotary on why his company is going green. It should be interesting.

Commonwealth Edison is also looking at using prairie beneath his high voltage towers in urban areas instead of planting them with grass that needs mowing.