The tallgrass prairie is an ecosystem native to central North America. Historically, natural and anthropogenic fire, as well as grazing by large mammals provided periodic disturbances to these ecosystems, limiting the encroachment of trees, recycling soil nutrients, and facilitating seed dispersal and germination. Prior to widespread use of the steel plow, which enabled large scale conversion to agricultural land use, tallgrass prairies extended throughout the American Midwest and smaller portions of southern central Canada, from the transitional ecotones out of eastern North American forests, west to a climatic threshold based on precipitation and soils, to the southern reaches of the Flint Hills in Oklahoma, to a transition into forest in Manitoba.
The Driftless Area, also known as Bluff Country and the Paleozoic Plateau, is a topographical and cultural region in the Midwestern United States that comprises southwestern Wisconsin, southeastern Minnesota, northeastern Iowa, and the extreme northwestern corner of Illinois. The Driftless Area is a USDA Level III Ecoregion: Ecoregion 52. The Driftless Area takes up a large portion of the Upper Midwest forest–savanna transition. The Blufflands refers to the eastern section of the Driftless area in Minnesota, due to the steep bluffs and cliffs around the river valleys. The western half is known as the Rochester Plateau, which is flatter than the Blufflands. The Coulee Region refers to the southwestern part of the Driftless Area in Wisconsin. It is named for its numerous ravines.
The Loess Hills are a formation of wind-deposited loess soil in the westernmost parts of Iowa and Missouri, and the easternmost parts of Nebraska and Kansas, along the Missouri River.
Stone State Park is a state park in Iowa, United States, located in the bluffs and ravines adjacent to the Big Sioux River. The park is located on the northwestern edge of Sioux City and consists of 1,069 acres (433 ha) in Woodbury and Plymouth Counties, and overlooks the South Dakota-Iowa border. Stone Park is near the northernmost extent of the Loess Hills, and is at the transition from clay bluffs and prairie to sedimentary rock hills and bur oak forest along the Iowa side of the Big Sioux River. A variety of prairie plants can be found on the steep slopes and ridges, including yucca, penstemon, rough blazing star, silky aster, and pasque flower. Wild turkey, white-tailed deer, coyote, and red fox are found in the park. Birdlife includes the turkey vulture, barred owl, rufous-sided (eastern) towhee, and the ovenbird. Exposed bedrock in the park is composed of lignite, shale, sandstone, and limestone, and dates to the Cretaceous period; it is rich in marine fossils. The park contains many miles of hiking and equestrian trails, and is a popular destination for day visitors, overnight campers, mountain bike enthusiasts, and picnickers.
The Jim Edgar Panther Creek State Fish and Wildlife Area (JEPC) is a conservation area located within Cass County in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is 16,550 acres (6,698 ha) in size. A mix of plowed upland prairie and Panther Creek woodlands, the site is managed by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. It is drained by the Sangamon River. It is named for former Governor of Illinois Jim Edgar.
The Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks are a group of 20 metropolitan parks in and around Columbus, Ohio. They are officially organized into the Columbus and Franklin County Metropolitan Park District. The Metro Parks system was organized in 1945 under Ohio Revised Code Section 1545 as a separate political division of the state of Ohio. The Metro Parks are overseen by a Board of Park Commissioners consisting of three citizens appointed to three-year terms without compensation by the Judge of the Probate Court of Franklin County, Ohio. The Board in turn appoints an Executive Director responsible for operations and management of the parks.
Volo Bog State Natural Area is a nature reserve in Illinois, United States, preserving Volo Bog. The bog was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1973 as the only remaining open-water quaking bog in Illinois. The site also contains woodlands, savanna, marshes, prairie restoration areas, shrubland and old fields. Maintained by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, the site is located about a mile west of U.S. Route 12 between the towns of Volo and Fox Lake, Illinois.
Wildcat Mountain State Park is a state park of Wisconsin, United States, on the Kickapoo River in the Driftless Area. Sandstone bluffs topped with limestone, two of which are Wildcat Mountain and Mount Pisgah, provide views over the narrow valley of the river and its tributaries. The Kickapoo Valley Reserve is immediately adjacent and forms a continuous protected area. Wildcat Mountain State Park is open for year-round recreation including hiking, canoeing, fishing, and cross-country skiing. The 3,643-acre (1,474 ha) park is located in Vernon County near the town of Ontario, Wisconsin.
Goose Lake Prairie State Natural Area is a 2,537-acre (1,027 ha) state park and listed state nature preserve. More than half of the state park is a tallgrass prairie maintained as a natural area of Illinois. It is located in Grundy County near the town of Morris approximately 50 miles (80 km) southwest of Chicago.
Weldon Springs State Park is a 550-acre (220 ha) state park located near Clinton, Illinois. It centers on Salt Creek and the impoundment of a tributary, Weldon Springs, to form Weldon Spring Lake, a reservoir. It is supervised by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
Apple River Canyon State Park is an Illinois state park on 297 acres (120 ha) in Jo Daviess County, Illinois, United States. The park was begun with land purchased by the state in 1932, as a result of a prolonged campaign led by botanist Herman Silas Pepoon; with additional acquisitions since, 1,907 acres (772 ha) of land have been preserved to protect much of an 8+1⁄2-mile (13.7 km) long canyon on the Apple River.
Kidd Lake State Natural Area is a protected area of Illinois on 800 acres (324 ha) in Monroe County, Illinois, United States, adjacent to the Fults Hill Prairie State Natural Area.
The Gensburg-Markham Prairie, also known as Markham Prairie, is a 105.6-acre (427,000 m2) high-quality tallgrass prairie located in Markham in the Chicago metropolitan area. It is part of the larger Indian Boundary Prairies managed by Northeastern Illinois University and The Nature Conservancy. Described by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources as "an unusual example of sandy loam prairie," it is a National Natural Landmark.
Heron Pond – Little Black Slough Nature Preserve is a parcel of protected wetland property located in Belknap, Illinois, approximately 5 miles (8 km) southwest of Vienna, in Johnson County. It was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1972. As part of the Cache River basin, it is classified as a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention.
The Hayden Prairie State Preserve is a 240-acre (97 ha) tallgrass prairie located in Howard County, Iowa. It is a National Natural Landmark managed by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Located close to the northern border of the state of Iowa, the nearest towns are Chester and Lime Springs.
Revis Hill Prairie State Natural Area, also known as Revis Hill Prairie Nature Preserve, is a 412.7-acre (167.0 ha) state park located six miles south of Easton in Mason County, Illinois. It is operated by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) as a tallgrass prairie nature preserve and as a fish and wildlife area managed for deer hunting.
The Prairie Ridge State Natural Area is a 4,101-acre (1,660 ha) collaborative natural area managed by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. It is managed for the benefit of endangered, threatened, watch list, and area sensitive species associated with the tallgrass prairie habitat of south-central Illinois, especially the greater prairie chicken. The natural area is split between land parcels in Jasper County and Marion County, in the U.S. state of Illinois.
Cayler Prairie State Preserve is a 160-acre land parcel of tallgrass prairie located in the northwest region of the U.S. state of Iowa in Dickinson County near Spirit Lake. It is a National Natural Landmark.
