Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge
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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 ecosystem that once covered most of Iowa. It has a herd of approximately three dozen buffalo and a dozen elk.
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 ) for a nuclear power plant. The Fish and Wildlife Service was able to acquire this land in 1990.[1]
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.[2]
[edit] References
- ^ Environmental Efforts web page by Midamerican Energy Holdings
- ^ Diane R. Witte, Walnut Creek National Wildlife Refuge and Prairie Learning Center, Restoration and Reclamation Review, 1, 1, Spring 1996
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
Coordinates: 41°34′31″N 93°16′26″W / 41.575389°N 93.273926°W
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