Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge
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Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge
US Refuge, Iowa
PO Box 399
Prairie City, IA 50228
www.fws.gov/midwest/nealsmith
Phone: 641-994-3400
Location: 20 miles east of Des Moines, Iowa. Established: 1990 as Walnut Creek NWR. Habitat: 8,000 acres being restored to tallgrass prairie and oak savanna. Facilities: Visitor center, viewing sites, hiking trails, auto tour route. Activities: Hunting, hiking, biking, mushroom collecting, educational programs. Access: Year round during daylight hours. Primary Wildlife: Elk, bison, beaver, badger, weasel, plains pocket gopher, Henslow's sparrow, northern harrier, short-eared owl, bobolink and meadowlark. Special Features: Refuge is the largest re-creation of the tallgrass prairie ecosystem anywhere in the United States. Native grasses and prairie flowers are being nurtured, and more than 200 types of prairie seeds have been replanted.
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Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge
| Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge | |
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IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area)
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 Bison sculpture on highway near refuge. |
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| Location | Jasper County, Iowa, United States |
| Nearest city | Prairie City, Iowa |
| Coordinates | 41°34′31″N 93°16′26″W / 41.575389°N 93.273926°WCoordinates: 41°34′31″N 93°16′26″W / 41.575389°N 93.273926°W |
| Area | 8,654 acres (35.02 km2) |
| Established | 1990 |
| Governing body | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service |
| Official website | |
The Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge is a federal national wildlife refuge located in Jasper County, Iowa, United States. The refuge, formerly known as Walnut Creek, is named after Congressman Neal Edward Smith, who championed its creation. It seeks to restore the tallgrass prairie and oak savanna ecosystems that once covered most of Iowa. It has a herd of approximately 75 buffalo (bison) and 25 elk.
The core of the Neal Smith refuge was a 3,600-acre (15 km2) block of land originally acquired by Iowa Power and Light (now part of MidAmerican Energy) for a nuclear power plant. The Fish and Wildlife Service was able to acquire this land in 1990.[1] Today the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has acquired much more of the allocated 8,654 acres (35.02 km2).
Although the Neal Smith refuge includes a patchwork of small and seriously degraded native prairies, most of the refuge is the result of prairie restoration efforts. The restoration work has been done with local ecotype seed harvested from nearby native prairie remnants or from other restoration efforts that have used acceptable local ecotype seed.[2]
See also
References
- ^ Environmental Efforts web page by Midamerican Energy Holdings
- ^ Diane R. Witte, Walnut Creek National Wildlife Refuge and Prairie Learning Center, Restoration and Reclamation Review, 1, 1, Spring 1996
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
External links
- U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge
- Friends of the Prairie Learning Center
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