Neal Smith Wildlife Refuge
Encyclopedia
National Wildlife Refuge
National Wildlife Refuge is a designation for certain protected areas of the United States managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The National Wildlife Refuge System is the world's premiere system of public lands and waters set aside to conserve America's fish, wildlife and plants...
located in Jasper County, Iowa
Jasper County, Iowa
-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 36,842 in the county, with a population density of . There were 16,181 housing units, of which 14,806 were occupied.-2000 census:...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The refuge, formerly known as Walnut Creek, is named after Congressman Neal Edward Smith, who championed its creation. It seeks to restore the tallgrass prairie
Tallgrass prairie
The tallgrass prairie is an ecosystem native to central North America, with fire as its primary periodic disturbance. In the past, tallgrass prairies covered a large portion of the American Midwest, just east of the Great Plains, and portions of the Canadian Prairies. They flourished in areas with...
and oak savanna
Oak savanna
An oak savanna is a type of savanna, or lightly forested grassland, where oaks are the dominant tree species. These savannas were maintained historically through wildfires set by lightning, grazing, low precipitation, poor soil, and/or fires set by Native Americans...
ecosystems that once covered most of Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
. It has a herd of approximately 75 buffalo (bison)
American Bison
The American bison , also commonly known as the American buffalo, is a North American species of bison that once roamed the grasslands of North America in massive herds...
and a 25 elk
Elk
The Elk is the large deer, also called Cervus canadensis or wapiti, of North America and eastern Asia.Elk may also refer to:Other antlered mammals:...
.
The core of the Neal Smith refuge was a 3600 acre (5.6 square mile) block of land originally acquired by Iowa Power and Light (now part of MidAmerican Energy
MidAmerican Energy Company
MidAmerican Energy Company is an energy company based in Des Moines, Iowa. Its service area includes almost two-thirds of Iowa, as well as portions of Illinois, South Dakota, and Nebraska. Its territory is wholly encompassed by the territory of the Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator...
) for a nuclear power plant
Nuclear power plant
A nuclear power plant is a thermal power station in which the heat source is one or more nuclear reactors. As in a conventional thermal power station the heat is used to generate steam which drives a steam turbine connected to a generator which produces electricity.Nuclear power plants are usually...
. The Fish and Wildlife Service was able to acquire this land in 1990. Today the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has acquired much more of the allocated 8654 acres (35 km²).
Although the Neal Smith refuge includes a patchwork of small and seriously degraded native prairies, most of the refuge is the result of prairie restoration
Prairie Restoration
Prairie restoration is an ecologically friendly way to restore some of the prairie land that was lost to industry, farming and commerce. For example, the U.S...
efforts. The restoration work has been done with local ecotype
Ecotype
In evolutionary ecology, an ecotype,Greek: οίκος = home and τύπος = type, coined by Göte Turesson in 1922 sometimes called ecospecies, describes a genetically distinct geographic variety, population or race within species , which is adapted to specific environmental conditions.Typically, ecotypes...
seed harvested from nearby native prairie remnants or from other restoration efforts that have used acceptable local ecotype seed.