Chaparral Prairie State Nature Preserve is a

nature preserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological o ...

located in Adams County,

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, near the city of West Union. The prairie is a remnant of what was once a larger ecosystem. These grassland openings were probably created by the extinct megafauna, such as

mammoths A mammoth is any species of the extinct elephantid genus ''Mammuthus'', one of the many genera that make up the order of trunked mammals called proboscideans. The various species of mammoth were commonly equipped with long, curved tusks and, i ...

and

mastodons A mastodon ( 'breast' + 'tooth') is any proboscidean belonging to the extinct genus ''Mammut'' (family Mammutidae). Mastodons inhabited North and Central America during the late Miocene or late Pliocene up to their extinction at the end of th ...

, that were once found in the area. Native American fires may have also played a role in maintaining this landscape. In modern times the prairie species found refuge on the dry, rocky openings in this part of the state. Today,

controlled burns A controlled or prescribed burn, also known as hazard reduction burning, backfire, swailing, or a burn-off, is a fire set intentionally for purposes of forest management, farming, prairie restoration or greenhouse gas abatement. A cont ...

are used at Chaparral Prairie to keep woody species at bay. Chaparral Prairie supports the most extensive population of rattlesnake-master in the state. Prairie dock and spiked blazing star are also unusually abundant at this site, as well as eleven state-endangered species, including Blue False Indigo.

Post oak ''Quercus stellata'', the post oak or iron oak, is a North American species of oak in the white oak section. It is a slow-growing oak that lives in dry areas on the edges of fields, tops of ridges also grows in poor soils, and is resistant to r ...

, blackjack oak, and

eastern redcedar ''Juniperus virginiana'', also known as red cedar, eastern red cedar, Virginian juniper, eastern juniper, red juniper, and other local names, is a species of juniper native to eastern North America from southeastern Canada to the Gulf of Mexico a ...

are the most common trees surviving in the prairie, and

little bluestem ''Schizachyrium scoparium'', commonly known as little bluestem or beard grass, is a species of North American prairie grass native to most of the contiguous United States (except California, Nevada, and Oregon) as well as a small area north of t ...

is the dominant prairie grass. The rare Edward's hairstreak butterfly has also been observed. The preserve is open to the public, and contains a trail with bulletin board, interpretive signs and a parking lot.

External links

Chaparral Prairie State Nature Preserve
at ODNR Division of Natural Areas and Preserves
Chaparral Prairie State Nature Preserve
at American Byways {{Protected areas of Ohio Protected areas of Adams County, Ohio Ohio State Nature Preserves