About Prairie Legacy

Prairie Legacy Inc. shares our clients’ concern for natural habitat. We strive to preserve remnant natural communities and restore and sustain native plant communities by providing excellent botanical and environmental consulting services. To serve clients seeking plants and seed, our mission is to increase availability of high quality, native, local ecotype plant material, providing the best possible habitat for local flora and fauna.

The team of experts at Prairie Legacy Inc. offer a combined 40 years of professional botanical and biological survey experience in wetlands, woodlands, tallgrass, mixed grass, and Sandhills prairie. We have provided prairie restoration and management advice for 10 years. We are eager to share our passion and knowledge with others by giving public presentations and classes as well.

Our inventory includes more than 200 species of native perennials, trees and shrubs, and seed for habitat restoration and landscapes. When possible, our native plant selections are grown from locally collected and genetically adapted seed with minimal inputs. Native plants provide habitat for native pollinators whose populations have been declining, such as butterflies and bees. Those who purchase our plants help protect the natural diversity of our planet.

The plants are grown on the family farm, which was settled by our ancestors, and we work to protect the local native prairie and woodland and to pass on the passion for preservation of small family farms and our tallgrass prairie legacy.

OUR TEAM

Kay Kottas

President, Owner of Prairie Legacy Inc.
Managing Member, Witt’s End Homestead L.L.C.

Kay holds degrees in Horticulture, Plant Biology and Environmental Studies. She is the President and owner of Prairie Legacy Inc., a botanical consulting service and provider of retail plants and seed.  She is also owner of  Witt’s End Homestead LLC, a nursery raising local ecotype native seed and plants.  She taught Horticulture and native plant identification at the University of Nebraska for several years, and has provided plant inventories of natural areas including several U.S. Parks for the National Park Service in Nebraska and South Dakota, for Audubon’s Spring Creek Prairie in Denton, Nebraska, and for several private individuals. Kay conducted research on the endangered blowout penstemon for UNL.  She also worked several years in the Horticulture industry, and was manager of educational programs and plant records for the University of Nebraska Botanical Gardens and Arboretum.   Kay also won the 2006 “Blazing Star Award” for Contribution to the restoration of native plant communities from the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum.  For more than 20 years, Kay has provided expert native plant identification, research and management assessments on native acres. Today, Kay brings her expertise to you offering advice to public and private companies and individuals.

Alicia Nugteren Admiraal

Botanist

Alicia is a botanist for Prairie Legacy, Inc.  Alicia has a Master of Science degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Iowa State University with a specialty in wetland restoration, and a Bachelors of Arts degree in Biology and Environmental Studies.  In addition to experience in conducting botanical surveys and ecological assessments of native plant communities, she has done significant work with wetland and mesic prairie seed and plants, and wetland creation, restoration, delineation and mitigation.  Her expertise has benefited Nebraska plant communities through work with the Nebraska Game and Parks and the Nature Conservancy.  She has written numerous technical reports and informational guides regarding wetland restoration, has taught undergraduate courses in Botany, and has been a nature center teacher/naturalist.  She enjoys playing the piano, providing foster care for dogs awaiting adoption, and is very involved with her family and their school activities.