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The Role Of An Urban Tallgrass Prairie Remnant In Conservation: A Case Study In Central Iowa (Usa), Jimmie D. Thompson, Deborah Q. Lewis, William R. Norris

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Although more than 85% of Iowa (USA) was covered by tallgrass prairie at the time of settlement by Europeans in the early 19th century, less than 0.1% remains. The Richard W. Pohl State Preserve at Ames (IA) High School, surrounded on three sides by structures, roads, and other development, protects 4 ha of tallgrass prairie. The preserve, commonly referred to as Ames High Prairie (AHP), was grazed but never plowed under private ownership until its acquisition by the Ames School District in 1959.

Although considered for development as a parking lot or football field in the 1960s, the residents of …