Rare natural prairie open to public

BUCHANAN COUNTY - There's a new destination for nature lovers in Buchanan County.

The Quigley-Slattery Heritage Prairie, one and a half miles east of County Road W45 on 180th Street, north of Winthrop, is considered one of the last pieces of native prairie in Buchanan County.

Last spring, the Buchanan County Conservation Board acquired the 33-acre tract from the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation.

'This piece of land, like any native prairie in Iowa, is a precious bit of our inheritance,” said Anita O'Gara, spokeswoman for the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation. 'When Iowa was first settled, there were so many prairies covering the state. That became our agricultural heritage.

'Those pieces that never got plowed are very few and far between. Whenever we can permanently protect one we are just overjoyed.”

The county conservation board is managing the land as native prairie and offering hunting as well as educational opportunities.

During a celebration Thursday, the conservation board highlighted the quality of the prairie and why it's important that such a place is protected, according to Dan Cohen, executive director of the Buchanan County Conservation Board.

Attendees also learned about the 150 types of plants that are blooming there, Cohen said. The prairie also is home to common and rare wildlife, including grassland species of birds.

'There's not many like it left, so this is a unique piece,” he said. 'A large part of Iowa was covered by natural prairie and the native prairie now is said to be about 99.9 percent gone, so one-tenth of one percent remains. Of those pieces that are usually left, usually they're ultradry places.

'To have a lush, tall grass prairie is pretty rare.”