Track 3—Greenhouses and Restoration

Where did it go and why? Is there a way to get it back? These were the questions asked when this refuge was established in 1990. Tallgrass prairie once towered over more than 85% of the state before farming and homesteads came to Iowa.

     In 1835, Lt. Albert Lea surveyed what would become the state of Iowa. As he made his way through the prairie, bluestem grasses 15 feet tall and hoary vervain with roots reaching 20 feet deep were only two of the plants that made up this ecosystem. Meanwhile, buffalo herds roamed and eastern elk skirted the forest. The notes from Lea’s expedition gives us a glimpse into what Tallgrass prairie looked like and gave the refuge a place to start when we began the restoration of what had once been farmland into an 1840’s landscape.

     To your left you can see the maintenance facilities and one of the greenhouses where staff grows native plants for planting here and throughout Iowa.