Prairies generally within the Interior Plains
The protected grasslands of North America consist of prairies , with a dominant vegetation type of herbaceous plants like grasses , sedges , and other prairie plants, rather than woody vegetation like trees. Grasslands were generally dominant within the Interior Plains of central North America but was also present elsewhere. The protected areas for this ecosystem include public nature reserves managed by American, Canadian and Mexican wildlife management agencies, Native American tribes and Canadian First Nations , state wildlife management agencies, non-governmental organizations , and private nature reserves.[1]
Generally speaking, these regions are devoid of trees, except for riparian or gallery forests associated with streams and rivers. The tallgrass prairie , with moderate rainfall and rich soils, were ideally suited to agriculture so it became a productive grain-growing region. The tallgrass prairie ecosystem covered some 170 million acres (690,000 km2 ) of North America. Besides agriculture, much of the shortgrass prairie became grazing land for domestic livestock . Short grasslands occur in semi-arid climates while tall grasslands are in areas of higher rainfall. Although much of the grasslands are in the Great Plains ecoregion , protected grasslands can be found in other areas of Canada, Mexico and the United States . Desert (arid) grasslands are composed of sparse grassland ecoregions located in the deserts and xeric shrublands biome . Temperature extremes and low amounts of rainfall characterise these kinds of grasslands. Therefore, plants and animals are well adapted to minimize water loss.[2] Shrub-steppe is also a type of low-rainfall natural grassland . While arid, shrub-steppes have sufficient moisture to support a cover of perennial grasses or shrubs, a feature which distinguishes them from deserts . The shrub-steppes of North America occur in the western United States and western Canada, in the rain shadow between the Cascades and Sierra Nevada on the west and the Rocky Mountains on the east.
The expanses of grass once sustained migrations of an estimated 30 to 60 million American bison which maintained grazing pressure as a keystone species . Once bison could be found across much of North America. While they ranged from the eastern seaboard states to southeast Washington , eastern Oregon , and northeastern California , the greatest numbers were found within the great bison belt on the shortgrass plains east of the Rocky Mountains that stretched from Alberta to Texas .[3] Grazing is important to soil, vegetation and overall ecological balance . The ecosystem was maintained by a pattern of disturbance caused by natural wildfire and grazing by bison, a pattern which is called pyric herbivory .[4] The indigenous peoples of the Plains occupied the land, hunting bison and pronghorn . The expansion of the United States onto the frontier decimated the population of the indigenous people and the bison.[5] Bison occupy less than 1% of their historical range with fewer than 20,000 bison in conservation herds on public, tribal or private protected lands. Roughly 500,000 animals are raised for commercial purposes.[6]
The plowing of the tallgrass prairie to plant crops destroyed the natural habitat . Less than 4 percent of the prairie is left according to most estimates.[7] Intensive farming, urbanization, and the spread of trees - that were formerly limited by periodic fires - continue to contribute to habitat loss.[8] Studies estimated in 2018 that grasslands in the U.S were being lost at a rate of more than one-million-acre per year (0.40×10 ^ 6 ha).[9]
Protected areas [ edit ]
Name
Location
Operator
Bison
American Prairie
Montana
American Prairie Foundation
Yes
Antelope Island State Park
Utah
Utah State Parks
Yes
Badlands National Park
South Dakota
National Park Service
Yes
Banff National Park
Alberta
Parks Canada
Yes
Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge
Oregon
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park
Ohio
Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks
Yes
Bear Butte State Park
South Dakota
South Dakota Department of Game, Fish, and Parks
Yes
Bear River State Park
Wyoming
Wyoming Division of State Parks and Historic Sites
Yes
Big Basin Prairie Preserve
Kansas
Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks
Big Thicket National Preserve
Texas
National Park Service
Black Kettle National Grassland
Texas
U.S. Forest Service
Blue Mounds State Park
Minnesota
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
Yes
Bonham State Park
Texas
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
Broken Kettle Grasslands Preserve
Iowa
The Nature Conservancy
Yes
Buena Vista Wildlife Area
Wisconsin
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge
Arizona
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Buffalo Gap National Grassland
South Dakota
U.S. Forest Service
Camp Pendleton
California
United States Marine Corps
Yes
Caprock Canyons State Park
Texas
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
Yes
Carrizo Plain National Monument
California
U.S. Bureau of Land Management
Catoosa Wildlife Management Area
Tennessee
Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency
Cayler Prairie State Preserve
Iowa
Iowa Department of Natural Resources
Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve
Minnesota
University of Minnesota College of Biological Sciences
Chickasaw National Recreation Area
Oklahoma
National Park Service
Yes
Chippewa Cree Tribal Buffalo Pasture
Montana
Chippewa Cree
Yes
Cimarron National Grassland
Kansas
U.S. Forest Service
Clymer Meadow Preserve
Texas
The Nature Conservancy
Comanche National Grassland
Colorado
U.S. Forest Service
Conrad Savanna Nature Preserve
Indiana
Indiana Department of Natural Resources
Cosumnes River Preserve
California
The Nature Conservancy , Bureau of Land Management, Ducks Unlimited, Department of Fish and Wildlife, Department of Water Resources, Sacramento County Department of Parks and Recreation, and the state Wildlife Conservation Board
Crane Trust
Nebraska
Crane Trust
Yes
Crex Meadows Wildlife Area
Wisconsin
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Crooked River National Grassland
Oregon
U.S. Forest Service
Cross Ranch Nature Preserve
North Dakota
The Nature Conservancy
Yes
Crow-Hassan Park Reserve
Minnesota
Three Rivers Park District
CSKT Bison Range
Montana
Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes
Yes
Custer State Park
South Dakota
South Dakota Department of Game, Fish, and Parks
Yes
Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park
Alberta, Saskatchewan
Alberta Environment and Parks and Ministry of Parks, Culture and Sport (Saskatchewan)
Daniels Park
Colorado
Denver
Yes
Driftless Area National Wildlife Refuge
Iowa , Wisconsin
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Dunbar Cave State Park
Tennessee
Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation
Elk Cove Meadow
Oregon
U.S. Forest Service
Elk Island National Park
Alberta
Parks Canada
Yes
Fermilab
Illinois
U.S. Department of Energy
Yes
Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge
Nebraska
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Yes
Fort Pierre National Grassland
South Dakota
U.S. Forest Service
Fort Peck Indian Reservation
Montana
Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes
Yes
Fort Ridgely State Park
Minnesota
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
Fort Robinson State Park
Nebraska
Nebraska Game and Parks Commission
Yes
Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge
Texas
Fort Worth, Texas
Yes
Gaviota State Park
California
California Department of Parks and Recreation
Genesee Park
Colorado
Denver
Yes
Gensburg-Markham Prairie
Illinois
The Nature Conservancy , Northeastern Illinois University , the Natural Land Institute
Gitchie Manitou State Preserve
Iowa
Iowa Department of Natural Resources
Glacial Ridge National Wildlife Refuge
Minnesota
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Golden Prairie
Missouri
Missouri Prairie Foundation
Grand River National Grassland
South Dakota
U.S. Forest Service
Grand Teton National Park /National Elk Refuge
Wyoming
National Park Service
Yes
Grasslands National Park
Saskatchewan
Parks Canada
Yes
Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve
Colorado
National Park Service
Great Valley Grasslands State Park
California
California Department of Parks and Recreation
Hayden Prairie State Preserve
Iowa
Iowa Department of Natural Resources
Hay-Zama Lakes Wildland Park
Alberta
Alberta Parks
Yes
Hempstead Plains Preserve
New York
Nassau County
Henry Mountains
Utah
Utah Division of Wildlife Resources , Bureau of Land Management
Yes
Homestead National Historical Park
Nebraska
National Park Service
Hoosier Prairie State Nature Preserve
Indiana
National Park Service
Hot Springs State Park
Wyoming
Wyoming Division of State Parks and Historic Sites
Yes
Innoko National Wildlife Refuge
Alaska
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Yes
Janos Biosphere Reserve
Chihuahua
Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources
Yes
Jenner Headlands Preserve
California
The Wildlands Conservancy
Joseph H. Williams Tallgrass Prairie Preserve
Oklahoma
The Nature Conservancy
Yes
J. T. Nickel Family Nature and Wildlife Preserve
Oklahoma
The Nature Conservancy
Kankakee Sands
Indiana
The Nature Conservancy
Yes
Kingston Prairie Preserve
Oregon
Greenbelt Land Trust
Kiowa National Grassland
New Mexico
U.S. Forest Service
Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park
Florida
Florida Department of Environmental Protection
Konza Prairie Biological Station
Kansas
The Nature Conservancy , Kansas State University
Yes
Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area
Kentucky
U.S. Forest Service
Yes
Las Cienegas National Conservation Area
Arizona
U.S. Bureau of Land Management
Lynx Prairie
Ohio
The Nature Conservancy
Lost Trail National Wildlife Refuge
Montana
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Lyndon B. Johnson National Grassland
Texas
U.S. Forest Service
Maderas del Carmen
Coahuila
Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources
Yes
Maxwell Wildlife Refuge
Kansas
Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks
Yes
McClellan Creek National Grassland
Texas
U.S. Forest Service
Mead Wildlife Area
Wisconsin
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie
Illinois
U.S. Forest Service
Yes
Minneopa State Park
Minnesota
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
Yes
Missimer Wildflower Preserve
California
Land Trust of Napa County
Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge
Vermont
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service |
Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge
Texas
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Nachusa Grasslands
Illinois
The Nature Conservancy
Yes
Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge
Iowa
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Yes
Oglala National Grassland
Nebraska
U.S. Forest Service
Ojibway Prairie Complex
Ontario
Windsor, Ontario , Ontario Parks
Old Man on His Back Prairie and Heritage Conservation Area
Saskatchewan
Nature Conservancy of Canada
Yes
Pawnee National Grassland
Colorado
U.S. Forest Service
Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park
Florida
Florida Department of Environmental Protection
Yes
Pee Dee National Wildlife Refuge
North Carolina
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Phil Hardberger Park
Texas
San Antonio
Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site
Colorado
U.S. Army
Point Reyes National Seashore
California
National Park Service
Prairie State Park
Missouri
Missouri Department of Natural Resources
Yes
Prince Albert National Park
Saskatchewan
Parks Canada
Yes
Quivira National Wildlife Refuge
Kansas
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Riding Mountain National Park
Manitoba
Parks Canada
Yes
Rita Blanca National Grassland
Texas
U.S. Forest Service
Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge
Colorado
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Yes
Rocky Prairie
Washington
Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge
Oklahoma
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
San Bernardino National Wildlife Refuge
Arizona
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site
Colorado
National Park Service
San Luis National Wildlife Refuge Complex
California
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Sandhill Wildlife Area
Wisconsin
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Yes
Sandsage Bison Range & Wildlife Area
Kansas
Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks
Yes
Slinde Mounds State Preserve
Iowa
Iowa Department of Natural Resources
Soapstone Prairie/Red Mountain
Colorado
Fort Collins, Colorado and Larimer County
Yes
Spirit Mound Historic Prairie
South Dakota
South Dakota Department of Game, Fish, and Parks
Stone State Park
Iowa
Iowa Department of Natural Resources
Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve
Kansas
The Nature Conservancy , National Park Service
Yes
Tallgrass Prairie Preserve
Oklahoma
The Nature Conservancy
Yes
Theodore Roosevelt National Park
North Dakota
National Park Service
Yes
Thunder Basin National Grassland
Wyoming
U.S. Forest Service
Trexler Nature Preserve
Pennsylvania
Lehigh County
Yes
Turkey River Mounds State Preserve
Iowa
Iowa Department of Natural Resources
Valentine National Wildlife Refuge
Nebraska
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Valles Caldera National Preserve
New Mexico
National Park Service
Vermejo Park Ranch
New Mexico and Colorado
Ted Turner
Yes
Wanuskewin Heritage Park
Saskatchewan
Wanuskewin Heritage Park Authority
Yes
Waterton Lakes National Park
Alberta
Parks Canada
Yes
White Horse Hill National Game Preserve
North Dakota
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Yes
Whorehouse Meadow
Oregon
U.S. Bureau of Land Management
Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge
Oklahoma
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Yes
Wild Horse Island
Montana
Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks
Wildlife Prairie Park
Illinois
Friends of Wildlife Prairie Park
Willa Cather Memorial Prairie
Nebraska
Willa Cather Foundation
Willamette Floodplain
Oregon
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Wind Cave National Park
South Dakota
National Park Service
Yes
Wolakota Buffalo Range
South Dakota
Rosebud Economic Development Corporation
Yes
Wood Buffalo National Park
Alberta and Northwest Territories
Parks Canada
Yes
Yellowstone National Park
Idaho , Montana , Wyoming
National Park Service
Yes
Zumwalt Prairie
Oregon
The Nature Conservancy
Cemetery prairies [ edit ]
Cemetery prairies are remnants of native North American prairie.
Bigelow Cemetery Preserve, Ohio[10]
Brown School Road Cemetery, St. Joseph, Michigan[11]
Brownlee Prairie Cemetery Nature Preserve, Illinois[12]
Calvary Catholic Cemetery, St. Louis[13]
Clay Prairie, Allison, Iowa[11]
German Methodist Cemetery Prairie State Nature Preserve, Lake County, Indiana [14]
German Settler Cemetery, La Paz, Indiana[11]
Goewey Township Cemetery, Osceola County, Iowa[15]
Harrison Cemetery Prairie, southwest Michigan[11]
Hess Cemetery near Eagle Point, Illinois[16]
Horton Township Cemetery Prairie Preserve, Osceola County, Iowa[15] [17]
Johnson Cemetery, Hillsdale County, Michigan[11]
Loda Cemetery Prairie, Illinois[18]
Mount Hope Cemetery, Barry County, Michigan[11]
Munson Township Cemetery Prairie Nature Preserve, north of Cambridge, Henry County, Illinois[19]
Pellsville Pioneer Cemetery, Butler Township, Vermilion County, Illinois[18]
Prospect Cemetery State Preserve[20]
Queen Anne Prairie Cemetery, Woodstock, Illinois[11]
Rochester Cemetery, Cedar County, Iowa,[21] [22] established 1830s on 13.5 acres (5.5 ha; 0.055 km2 ) of hills in sand prairie-savanna grassland near the Cedar River[23]
Smith Cemetery Prairie Nature Preserve,[10] Darby Township, Madison County, Ohio[24]
Sumnerville Cemetery, Cass County, Michigan[11]
Tomlinson Cemetery, Champlaign County, Illinois[25]
Weston Cemetery Prairie , Yates Township, McLean County, Illinois
See also [ edit ]
References [ edit ]
^ Tarnow, Anna (February 18, 2019). "More than just grass: US prairies make a comeback" . Christian Science Monitor . Retrieved February 26, 2021 .
^ "Deserts and xeric shrublands | Biomes | WWF" . World Wildlife Fund . Retrieved May 20, 2020 .
^ Wuerthner, George (September 3, 2020). "Bison ecology, ecological influence, behavior, and decline" . The Wildlife News . Retrieved July 9, 2021 .
^ "Restoring prairie and fighting wildfire with (drone launched) fire(balls)" . Ecotone . Ecological Society of America. August 1, 2016. Retrieved March 14, 2022 .
^ Tutton, Mark (November 27, 2019). "How bison are bringing life back to the prairie" . CNN . Retrieved February 26, 2021 .
^ Akcakaya, H. Resit (November 7, 2019). "To Save Species from Extinction, We Must Consider More than Just Numbers" . In These Times . Retrieved November 4, 2020 .
^ Berger, Joel; Beckmann, Jon (May 1, 2020). "America's Native Big Open Was Anything But Lonely Or Empty" . Mountain Journal . Retrieved September 28, 2020 .
^ Webber, Tammy (August 25, 2023). "North American grassland birds in peril, spurring all-out effort to save birds and their habitat" . AP News . Retrieved August 25, 2023 .
^ McBride, Bekah (November 15, 2018). "Grasslands among the best landscapes to curb climate change" . UWMadScience . University of Wisconsin-Madison. Retrieved October 5, 2020 .
^ a b Madson, John (2009). Where The Sky Began: Land of the Tallgrass Prairie . University of Iowa Press. ISBN 9780877458616 . OCLC 794701545 . Retrieved January 24, 2023 – via Project MUSE .
^ a b c d e f g h Pleznac, Christine (1982). R. Brewer (ed.). "Michigan cemetery prairies and their flora" (PDF) . Proceedings of the Eighth North American Prairie Conference . Kalamazoo, Michigan: Western Michigan University: 130–132.
^ "Mercer County Prairie Hike Set May 19" . The Rock Island Argus . May 12, 1985. p. 10. Retrieved January 9, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Pristine prairie at Calvary Cemetery thrives amid urban landscape" . Archdiocese of St. Louis . Retrieved January 25, 2023 .
^ "German Methodist Cemetery Prairie" . The Nature Conservancy . Retrieved January 25, 2023 .
^ a b " "Efforts Underway to Resore Forgotten Horton Township Cemetery" " . Sioux City Journal 30 Jul 2001, page 4 . Retrieved January 9, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "The Tall Grass Prairie Abounds at Eagle Point" . The Rock Island Argus . June 6, 1984. p. 17. Retrieved January 9, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Horton Township Cemetery Prairie Preserve" . Watchable Wildlife Sites in Northwest Iowa . Retrieved January 28, 2023 .
^ a b Borrelli, Christopher (August 6, 2017). "A Little History on the Prairie: Pioneer Cemeteries show Us what Illinois Looked Like before European Settlers". Chicago Tribune . p. 1. ProQuest 1926287833 .
^ "Prairie tour will be today" . Quad-City Times . June 26, 1994. p. 64. Retrieved January 9, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Midwest Wilderness Connections - Prospect Prairie Cemetery State Preserve" . sites.google.com . Retrieved January 25, 2023 .
^ Samuels, Sam Hooper (July–August 2009). "Hallowed Prairie" (PDF) . Iowa Outdoors . Photographs by Clay Smith. Iowa Department of Natural Resources . pp. 29–35.
^ Wallbaum, Mary (July 4, 1976). "Prairie Grass Obstacle at First" . The Gazette . Cedar Rapids, Iowa. p. 144. Retrieved January 9, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Cemetery Politics: Iowa Town Divided Over Cemetery Mowing" . The Muscatine Journal . Muscatine, Iowa. November 4, 2006. p. 8. Retrieved January 9, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
^ Sidoti, Liz (October 15, 2000). "Prairie Could Return, State Aims to Add 3 Patches" . The Cincinnati Enquirer . p. 28. Retrieved January 9, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Pioneer Graveyard Site of Champaign County's Best-Preserved Prairie" . The Times . Munster, Indiana. November 30, 2001. p. 20. Retrieved January 9, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.