Iowa’s
landscape was once covered by vast rolling hills of prairie. An estimated 85% of the land was prairie
grass and flowers when European settlers first arrived. Since that time the Iowa landscape has
changed drastically and today only 1/10 of 1% of our native prairie
remains.
The
largest remaining prairie remnants in Iowa can be found in the Loess Hills of
Western Iowa. Other prairie remnants can
be found in old graveyards, railroad right-of-ways, road ditches and scattered
in small patches on state, county or private lands.
Prairies
are a diverse pool of plants species, are habitat for many wildlife species and
are a protective buffer for ground and surface water supplies.
Even
though native prairie in Iowa is scarce, over the past two decades prairie
acreage has actually increased in Iowa.
Concerned Iowans have worked hard to restore and reconstruct prairie
areas across the state.
Several
events are planned across the state to celebrate our prairie heritage. Visit the Iowa Prairie Network Calendar of Events to find an event in
your area. Contact your local county conservation board to learn more about
prairies in your county.
Teaching about
Prairies
- Have students, individually or in group, investigate prairie plants and/or animals. Ask students to find one or more benefits to people provided by each plant or animal in their investigations – a present, known benefit or a possible future benefit.
- Webs of life become obvious when you study prairies. Eliminating even one element in a prairie system can have a “ripple effect.” Have students list at least one other plant or animal on which their research subject depends for survival and hypothesize what would happen if that plant or animal disappeared.
- Analyze photographs of historical Iowa prairies and compare them to present day Iowa prairies.
- Many native prairie remnants still exist in Iowa in pioneer cemeteries. Take a field trip to one of these pieces of Iowa’s past. Contact your county conservation board or DNR wildlife management biologist to locate possible prairie sites in your area.
