Explore. Experience. Educate!

Interactive Directions to NSWR

NEAL
SMITH
WILDLIFE
REFUGE
This document was created to
give an interactive experience to
Neal Smith Wildlife refuge. Inside
you can learn about the Refuge,
Prairie Plants, Prairie Wildlife,
Prairie Fires, and Americas
Endangered Species. You will also
find information about
Volunteering at Neal Smith,
Activities all along the way, even
Educational games!

Created By: Alison Trimble

Iowa State University

Explore. Experience. Educate!

Neal Smith Wildlife Refuge

EXPLORE. EXPERIENCE. EDUCATE!

Welcome to the Prairie

of Iowa
The Neal Smith National Wildlife
Refuge is named after Congressman Neal
Edward Smith who supported legislation to
establish the Refuge in 1990. In 1991 the
first parcel was purchased by the US Fish
and Wildlife service. In 1970 the land was to
become a nuclear power station.
The refuge has four purposes:
Located in Jasper County, Iowa, US

*Restore native tallgrass prairie,

the refuge covers 5,600 acres of the Walnut

wetland, & woodland habitats for

Creek watershed restoring agricultural land

breeding and migratory waterfowl and

back to natural Iowa prairie and fire resistant

resident wildlife.

oak savanna as they were before Euro-

*Serve as a major environmental

American settlement in the 1840s

Unique in scale, the Neal Smith

education center providing opportunities

for study.

National Wildlife Refuge represents the

*Provide outdoor recreation benefits

worlds largest ongoing attempt at natural

to the public.

habitat restoration and species reintroduction.

*Provide assistance to local

landowners to improve their lands for
wildlife habitat.

9981 Pacific Street Prairie City, IA 50228

Contact us at (515) 994-3400, buffalo@tallgrass.org or on the web at tallgrass.org

Explore. Experience. Educate!

The Plants of Neil Smith

PLANTS. FORBS.
SOIL. FUN FACT.
PRAIRIE PLANTS
Over 300 native plant species can be found on the
former farm land
How Seeds are cleaned at the Neal Smith Wildlife
Refuge Prairie Learning Center

The four major grasses of the tallgrass prairie are:

big bluestem, Indian grass, little bluestem, and
switch grass.
Tall prairie grasses can grow up to ten feet with an
average height of six to eight feet.
PRAIRIE FORBS
Forbs are flowering plant species that are not
grasses or woody plants.
Forbs bloom from smallest to largest. At Neal
Smith, Violets boom first in the spring and tall

How Seedlings Are Transplanted at the Neal

Smith Wildlife Refuge Prairie Learning Center

bloom last sunflowers in the fall.

PRAIRIE SOIL
Prairie soil is like a giant sponge. A tangle of roots
and organic material give it 50% pore (air) space.
Some prairie plants roots extend 12 feet below the
prairie surface. As some roots die, they form organic
material, becoming rich, fertile Iowa soil.
FUN FACT
A prairie plants roots make up over 2/3rds its

http://www.fws.gov/refuge/neal_smith/

Phone: (515) 994-3400

biomass. In fact some prairie plant roots go down

12ft

9981 Pacific Street

Prairie City, IA 50228

ACTIVITY #1 Scent Searching: Act like a prairie animal, smell plants, flowers & seeds, find a plants with these
smells: mint, lemon or sweet roses.

Explore. Experience. Educate!

PRARIE WILDLIFE
BISON & ELK. SQUIRRELS.
BIRDS. BUTTERFLIES & INSECTS.
BISON & ELK
Up

to 60 million bison grazed on the plains and

prairies of North America when European

explorers first arrived and fewer than 600 existed
by 1885.
An adult male bison weights up to 2000 lbs. and

Experience Bison Prairie Habitat Research

stands about 6 1/2 feet high at the shoulder.

A bison consumes 30-50 pounds of feed each day.
Grazing by elk and bison is an integral part of the
prairie ecosystem. Grazing increases the growth of
prairie plants.

BIRDS
Tallgrass prairies provide habitats to over 350
species of birds.
Tallgrass prairies provide food, cover and
Bison Dung- A rich source of Prairie DNA

breeding habitat
Birds represent 60% of vertebrate animals native

BUTTERFLIES & INSECTS

to Iowa.

Over 100 species of butterflies can be found

When prairies were first plowed prairie birds

in Iowa today.

started to decline.

Monarch butterflies can often be seen from

Extinct

Passenger

Pigeons

were

the

most

abundant prairie bird.

Prairie

chickens

May to October, feeding on the nectar of

prairie plants.

once

flourished

on

the

Insects and worms eat plant material,

grasslands.

decomposing it and returning important

SQUIRRELS

nutrients into the soil.

Fox squirrels save acorns (Oak Seeds) by planting

Ants and other ground dwelling insects create

them.

tunnels to aerate the soil.

ACTIVITY #2 Lets Go Outside backpack: Ask a Front Desk Volunteer to check one out.
Theyre free and full of fun items to use during prairie discovery: bug jars, binoculars, and magnifying lens

Explore. Experience. Educate!

Early Euro-American pioneers gazed at the

seemingly endless prairies they reasoned that If it
cant grow trees, it must be poor ground. Following
this reasoning they first settled Iowas wooded
grounds near rivers where most large towns are
found today.
Watch: Prescribed Burn - Fire time-lapse

PRARIE FIRE
FIRE IS IMPORTANT.
FIRE IS IMPORTANT
Prairie

fires

are

important

to

the

development of tallgrass prairies. Burning

woody plants & trees, fires

keeps

the

prairie from becoming a forest.

Prairie fires burn as hot as 700F and can
move up to 600 feet per minute.
Fire burns woody shrubs and trees, but
Oaks are resistant.
Prairie fires are important to remove dead
materials to stimulate renewal of the

Endangered Species Act, 40 years later

Endangered Species Looking For

a Prairie Habitat to Call Home

prairie.

Did you know many of Iowas native prairie

Fire does not destroy prairie grasses

species are endangered? Converting prairies

because they grow from the stem up rather

to plowed farm land removed their niches.

than from the tips of the blade.

Plowing causes natural habitats become too

fragmented for many species to survive. Iowa
used to be 85% prairie; today 99.9% of
prehistoric prairie plowed away.

ACTIVITY #3 Live underground: Experience what it would be like to be a burrowing animal like a Prairie
Badger on the prairie by walking through our exhibits.

Explore. Experience. Educate!

Educational Activities for ALL Ages!

EXPLORE. EXPERIENCE. LEARN. & MORE.

Become a Volunteer or Supporting Member

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES:
Second Saturday Stewardship >>>
Work with conservation biologists, schools,
scientists, & prairie enthusiasts to preserve a piece of
Iowas natural heritage.
When: The second Saturday of each month
Time: Volunteers gather 9 am- 12 noon

DO: Neal Smith Wildlife Refuge Scavenger Hunt

Opportunities vary by season and may include

Things to See

working with seeds or plants in one stage or another

Different kinds of grasses Different kinds of

of growth.

seeds A spider or an insect A hole in the ground

This is an informal gathering, and anyone who is

Grass that is taller than you

available is welcome to join us, no registration

Things to Hear

required.

Wind blowing in the grass 2 different birds

How Can I Be A Second Saturday Steward? Simply

singing Crunching of grass A loud noise & a

sign in at the front desk and youll be directed to our

quiet noise A sound that doesnt belong

activity from there.

Things to Smell

http://www.tallgrass.org/volunteer/special-volunteer-

The soil under the grass Some seeds that smells

opportunities/

Good & Bad Flowers Anything burning

You May Also Become a Supporting Member

Things to Feel

http://www.tallgrass.org/pdf/membership_applicatio

A rock 1 rough & 1 smooth Something soft and

n.pdf

fuzzy Something dry and brittle Something

prickly Wind or sunshine

ACTIVITY #4 Go on a Buffalo Hunt! Have your parents, or adult friend take you for a 4 mile car ride.
Look for and count bison and elk like a science researcher would!

Explore. Experience. Educate!

ONLINE GAMES & INTERACTIVE RESOURCES

FUN INTERACTIVE GAMES TO LEARN ABOUT HABITATS AND PRAIRIE

ONLINE GAMES &

MORE PICTURES SHARED BY

ACTIVITIES

FRIENDS OF NEAL SMITH

Explore these games and activities to:

See the seasons of Neal Smith:

Build your very own prairie

Summer

Even more resources for Prairie Fun!

Fall

Explore ecosystems on Kids Planet

Winter

ACTIVITY #5 Prairie Sounds: Sit down in the grass for 3 minutes. Do not make a peep. Close your eyes and
listen to the sounds around you. Birds singing? Crickets chirping? Frogs calling? Wind blowing?

BIBLIOGRAPHY

SOURCES
Friends of Neal Smith Flikr Page. (2013). [Online] Available: http://www.flickr.com/photos/58763931@N06/
Friends of Neal Smith Vimeo Page. (2013). [Online] Available: http://vimeo.com/tallgrass
Friends of Neal Smith Wildlife Refuge. (2013). [Online] Available: http://www.tallgrass.org/
Madison, John. (1995). Where the sky began: Land of the tallgrass prairie. University of Iowa Press: Iowa City.
Mapquest.com (2013). [Online] Available: http://www.mapquest.com/ *Source of Map Image page 1
Mutel, Cornelia. (2008). The emerald horizon: History of Nature in Iowa. University of Iowa Press: Iowa City.
National Science Foundation (2013). Project BudBurst. (2013). [Online] Available: http://budburst.org
Prior, Jean. (1991). Landforms of Iowa. University of Iowa Press: Iowa City.
US Fish and Wildlife Refuge. (2013). Neal Smith. [Online] Available: http://www.fws.gov/refuge/neal_smith/

US Fish and Wildlife Services YouTube Page. (2013). [Online] Available: http://www.youtube.com/USFWS

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Friends-of-Neal-Smith-National-Wildlife-Refuge/64327467019