The greater prairie chicken or pinnated grouse, sometimes called a boomer, is a large bird in the grouse family. This North American species was once abundant, but has become extremely rare and extirpated over much of its range due to habitat loss. Conservation measures are underway to ensure the sustainability of existing small populations. One of the most famous aspects of these creatures is the mating ritual called booming.
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 Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie (MNTP) is a tallgrass prairie reserve and similarly preserved as United States National Grassland operated by the United States Forest Service. The first national tallgrass prairie ever designated in the U.S. and the largest conservation site in the Chicago Wilderness region, it is located on the site of the former Joliet Army Ammunition Plant between the towns of Elwood, Manhattan and Wilmington in northeastern Illinois. Since 2015, it has hosted a conservation herd of American bison to study their interaction with prairie restoration and conservation.
The Joseph H. Williams Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, in Osage County, Oklahoma near Foraker, Oklahoma, is the largest protected tract of tallgrass prairie in the world. Managed by The Nature Conservancy, the preserve contains 39,650 acres (160 km2) owned by the Conservancy and another 6,000 acres (24 km2) leased in what was the original tallgrass region of the Great Plains that stretched from Texas to Manitoba.
Glacial Ridge National Wildlife Refuge was created on October 12, 2004, the 545th National Wildlife Refuge in the United States. Its creation was the result of cooperation between at least 30 agencies or governmental entities. The creation of the refuge was spearheaded by The Nature Conservancy, and the initial endowment of 2,300 acres (9.3 km2) of land was donated by the Conservancy. In light of its planned final size of 37,756 acres (153 km2), it is described by the US Fish and Wildlife Service as "the largest tallgrass prairie and wetland restoration project in U.S. history."
Straddling the headwaters of the Minnesota River in west-central Minnesota, Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge is within the heart of the tallgrass prairie's historic range. Today, less than one-percent of tallgrass prairie remains.
Northern Tallgrass Prairie National Wildlife Refuge was established to provide a means of working with individuals, groups, private organizations, and government entities to permanently preserve a portion of the remaining remnant tracts of northern tallgrass prairie in Minnesota and Iowa. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is acquiring remnant prairie tracts for the refuge in both easement and fee title interests from willing sellers.
The Manitoba Tall Grass Prairie Preserve is located in southeastern Manitoba near Gardenton and Vita, this is about 50 kilometres (31 mi) south of Steinbach, Manitoba. It is one of the last remaining stands of tallgrass prairie in Manitoba and is part of the Tallgrass Aspen Parkland conservation area in Manitoba and Minnesota. Several groups and organizations help in land preservation in the Manitoba Tall Grass Prairie such as the Nature Conservancy of Canada, Nature Manitoba, Environment Canada, Manitoba Conservation and the Manitoba Habitat Heritage Corporation.
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.
August A. Busch Memorial Conservation Area is a 6,987-acre (28.28 km2) conservation area that is owned and managed by the Missouri Department of Conservation. Located in St. Charles County, Missouri, the land was purchased by the Department of Conservation with help from Alice Busch, the wife of August Anheuser Busch, Sr., in 1947 from the U.S. Government.
The Seventy-Six Conservation Area is located in eastern Perry County, Missouri at the end of Route D, approximately four miles northeast of Brazeau. The Missouri Conservation Department created this area in 1990 with the purchase of an 818-acre farm from a private landowner.
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.
Golden Prairie is a 630-acre (2,500,000 m2) tallgrass prairie named for its proximity to Golden City in the U.S. state of Missouri. The core 320-acre (1,300,000 m2) area is a National Natural Landmark.
Busiek State Forest is a state forest and conservation area in the state of Missouri, located in Christian County near Springfield, Missouri. The area consists of forests, glades, and savannas, two streams and offers 18 miles of trails, deer, squirrel, horse, and turkey hunting, primitive campsites, and features a shooting range.
The Diamond Grove Prairie Conservation Area is an 852-acre natural area located adjacent to the Missouri municipality of Diamond. The conservation area is characterized by rolling tallgrass prairie and prairie savanna. The conservation area is located relatively near, although not adjacent to, the George Washington Carver National Monument. It shows the landscape that was familiar to the Carver family group in the 1860s, the time of the American Civil War.
The Missouri Prairie Foundation (MPF) is a private-sector nonprofit foundation dedicated to the stewardship of original and replanted tallgrass prairie lands in the U.S. state of Missouri. Missouri, together with its neighbor state Iowa, are at the heart of the tallgrass prairie biome. In large stretches of interior North America, local climate patterns favor well-watered grassland or grassy savanna, and MPF celebrates this pattern of local natural areas. As of 2023, the MPF owns more than 4,400 acres of prairie in 32 tracts in various locations throughout Missouri.
Pickle Springs Natural Area is a 256.5-acre park location within Ste. Genevieve County in the U.S. state of Missouri. The site, a National Natural Landmark, is protected by the Missouri Department of Conservation. The natural area, a place of steep-sided rocky slopes, is characterized by small box canyons, sometimes called “shut-ins” because direct sunlight is shut out of them. Small, seasonal waterfalls trickle down the sides of the box canyons, providing nourishment for relict species that are otherwise rare in southern Missouri. Ferns and amphibians live here that are much more characteristic of the North American North Woods hundreds of miles away. Pickle Springs is located close to, although separate from, Hawn State Park. The nearest settlement is Farmington, Missouri. Access to the Natural Area requires hiking a 2-mile-long trail
The Maple Woods Natural Area is a natural area located in Clay County in the U.S. state of Missouri. The natural area is characterized by sugar maples. The 39.3-acre forest is recognized by the United States National Park Service as a Significant Natural Area. The small forest is a National Natural Landmark.
