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Northern Tallgrass Prairie
National Wildlife Refuge
Northern Tallgrass Prairie National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1999 to preserve 77,000 acres of native prairie and buffer lands at widespread locations within the historic northern tallgrass prairie region of western Minnesota and northwestern Iowa.
The project area for the refuge encompasses parts of 48 counties in Minnesota and 37 counties in Iowa. The refuge was established to address the loss of America's grasslands and mounting evidence indicating that many grassland species are vanishing as fast as the prairies that support them.
Left: Bonfire at the Touch the Sky Prairie Unit dedication ceremony.
Right: A species of cactus native to Minnesota (Opuntia macrorhiza).
Estimates place the original northern tallgrass prairie in Minnesota and Iowa at 25 million acres. Today, only about 300,000 acres remain in the two states, representing a greater than 99 percent decline. Currently, only a small percentage of northern tallgrass prairie habitat is protected, making it one of the rarest and most fragmented ecosystems in America.
The Refuge was established to provide a means for individuals, groups, private organizations, and government entities to permanently preserve a portion of the remaining northern tallgrass prairie in Minnesota and Iowa. The Fish and Wildlife Service is acquiring remnant prairie tracts for the refuge in both easement and fee title interests from willing sellers. Currently, the refuge is approximately 1,200 acres size and consists of five easements and four fee title tracts in six counties in Minnesota and one in Iowa.
Field administration of all units of the refuge will occur from eight existing Fish and Wildlife Service wetland management district and national wildlife refuge offices scattered throughout the project area. The refuge manager of Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge is responsible for overseeing the administration of the entire refuge.
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The Windom WMD manages Touch the Sky Prairie Unit of the Refuge. This prairie is located north of the city of Luverne in Rock County, Minnesota. Heavily grazed for over a century, this area will take time and patience to be restored to a healthy native prairie. Touch the Sky Prairie currently covers nearly 800 acres of federally-owned land. The Brandenburg Prairie Foundation has been instrumental in securing land and promotion of the unit. With their help, an additional 54 acres of habitat has been secured for permanent protection under a Fish and Wildlife Service grassland easement. |
