The refuge has been designated a Fish and Wildlife Service Land Management and Research Demonstration Area. It will facilitate development, testing, teaching, publishing, and demonstration of state-of-the-art management techniques for fish, wildlife, and plant conservation.

The Prairie Learning Center facilities include a visitor center with classrooms, exhibit area, theater, and bookstore. Miles of paved trails radiate from the center, and an auto tour through the 740-acre bison/elk enclosure is open all year. Teacher workshops, birding, hunting, and nature watching are some of the outdoor activities featured for thousands of visitors each year.

Refuge staff and volunteers are working with conservation officers, schools, scientists, and prairie enthusiasts to preserve a piece of Iowa's natural heritage. Rare prairie and savanna seeds are collected, studied, sown, and tended. Small savanna and prairie remnants within refuge boundaries are protected. Mowing, brush cutting, and controlled burning are used to manage both reconstructed and remnant prairie sites. Ongoing research is guiding the restoration process. The knowledge gained here will be made available to other ecosystem restoration project managers.

The refuge restoration process has already provided a diversity of life, including hundreds of plant species; over 200 bird species; nearly 100 species of mammals; scores of amphibians, reptiles, and fish; and countless thousands of insect species. Bison and elk have been re-introduced to the refuge to demonstrate the natural role of large herbivores in the tallgrass ecosystem.