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The Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge is a federal
Walnut Creek National Wildlife Refuge and Prairie Learning Center
1,'' 1, Spring 1996
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Neal Smith National Wildlife RefugeFriends of Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge
Protected areas of Jasper County, Iowa Grasslands of the North American Great Plains National Grasslands of the United States National Wildlife Refuges in Iowa Grasslands of Iowa Protected areas established in 1990 1990 establishments in Iowa {{Iowa-protected-area-stub
The Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge is a federal national wildlife refuge
National Wildlife Refuge System is a designation for certain protected areas of the United States managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The National Wildlife Refuge System is the system of public lands and waters set aside to c ...
located in Jasper County, Iowa
Jasper County is a county in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 37,813. The county seat is Newton. The county was organized in 1846 and is named after Sergeant William Jasper, a Revolutionary War hero.
Jasper Cou ...
, United States. The refuge, formerly known as Walnut Creek, is named after Congressman Neal Edward Smith
Neal Edward Smith (March 23, 1920 – November 2, 2021) was an American politician who was a member of the United States House of Representatives for the Democratic Party from Iowa from 1959 until 1995, the longest-serving Iowan in the United St ...
, who championed its creation. It seeks to restore the tallgrass prairie
The tallgrass prairie is an ecosystem native to central North America. Historically, natural and anthropogenic fire, as well as grazing by large mammals (primarily bison) provided periodic disturbances to these ecosystems, limiting the encroach ...
and oak savanna
An oak savanna is a type of savanna—or lightly forested grassland—where oaks (''Quercus ''spp.) are the dominant trees. The terms "oakery" or "woodlands" are also used commonly, though the former is more prevalent when referencing the Mediter ...
ecosystems that once covered most of Iowa. It has a herd of approximately 50 American bison
The American bison (''Bison bison'') is a species of bison native to North America. Sometimes colloquially referred to as American buffalo or simply buffalo (a different clade of bovine), it is one of two extant species of bison, alongside the ...
and 20 elk
The elk (''Cervus canadensis''), also known as the wapiti, is one of the largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. The common ...
. An initial group of six bison were released in 1996.
The core of the Neal Smith refuge was a block of land originally acquired by Iowa Power and Light) for a nuclear power plant
A nuclear power plant (NPP) is a thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear reactor. As is typical of thermal power stations, heat is used to generate steam that drives a steam turbine connected to a electric generator, generato ...
. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with oth ...
acquired this land in 1990. The Fish and Wildlife Service has acquired about more of the allocated .
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
Prairie restoration is a conservation effort to restore prairie lands that were destroyed due to industrial, agricultural, commercial, or residential development. For example, the U.S. state of Illinois alone once held over of prairie land an ...
or reconstruction efforts. The restoration work has been done with local ecotype
In evolutionary ecology, an ecotype,Greek: ''οίκος'' = home and ''τύπος'' = type, coined by Göte Turesson in 1922 sometimes called ecospecies, describes a genetically distinct geographic variety, population, or race within a species, ...
seed harvested from nearby native prairie remnants or from other restoration efforts that have used acceptable local ecotype seed.Diane R. WitteWalnut Creek National Wildlife Refuge and Prairie Learning Center
1,'' 1, Spring 1996
Prairie Learning Center
Located nearPrairie City, Iowa
Prairie City is a city in Jasper County, Iowa, Jasper County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,700 at the time of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is twenty-two miles east of Des Moines, Iowa, Des Moines.
History
Prairie Ci ...
, the Prairie Learning Center features exhibits and movies about the tallgrass prairie, sedge meadow and oak savanna ecosystems of the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge. The Center offers environmental education programs for school groups, scout groups and more. The Friends of the Prairie Learning Center operate the Prairie Point book store, which sells nature-themed books and gifts.
See also
*Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie
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. ...
References
External links
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge
Protected areas of Jasper County, Iowa Grasslands of the North American Great Plains National Grasslands of the United States National Wildlife Refuges in Iowa Grasslands of Iowa Protected areas established in 1990 1990 establishments in Iowa {{Iowa-protected-area-stub