Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge

Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge
IUCN Category IV (Habitat/Species Management Area)
Bison sculpture on highway near refuge.
Map of the United States
Location	Jasper County, Iowa, United States
Nearest city	Prairie City, Iowa
Coordinates	41°34′31″N 93°16′26″W
Area	8,654 acres (35.02 km2)
Established	1990
Governing body	U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Official website

The Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge is a federal national wildlife refuge located in Jasper County, Iowa, United States. 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 and oak savanna ecosystems that once covered most of Iowa. It has a herd of approximately 75 buffalo (bison) and a 25 elk.

The core of the Neal Smith refuge was a 3,600-acre (15 km²) block of land originally acquired by Iowa Power and Light (now part of MidAmerican Energy) for a nuclear power plant. 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 8,654 acres (35.02 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 efforts. The restoration work has been done with local ecotype seed harvested from nearby native prairie remnants or from other restoration efforts that have used acceptable local ecotype seed.

See also

• Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

External links

• U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge
• Friends of the Prairie Learning Center