We were trying recreate native wet meadows (wet mesic prairies), usually on land that had previously been converted to cropland. That's probably a multi-century process, but we believed that one of the first steps was to reintroduce as much of the native plant community as possible. So, for any given restoration project, we'd hand collect seed from 150 - 250 species of native plants from nearby native meadows. We'd also use a combine to harvest seed from the most abundant grass species like big bluestem and indiangrass. Again, we only harvested seed from the local area.
The area I was working in had some really nice big native prairies remnants, but they had been separated from each other by a century's worth of agricultural development. We used the restorations as a means of reconnecting the native sites. The restorations are not "real" wet meadows, but they do provide valuable ecological functions and often allow for improved pasture management options.
