The Ames High Prairie is one of the only prairies in the state that can be found in the middle of a city. The prairie is owned by the Ames Community School District, but it has a 49-year lease with The Nature Conservancy. It is approximately 27 square acres in area, and has a variety of native grasslands. This preserve is a tallgrass prairie, with lush grasslands commonly found in the midwest; dominately big blue stem and Indian grass. This particular site was purchased by the school district for use as a parking lot or football field. In 1970, however, the school district entered a 49-year lease with The Nature Conservancy. The site was later dedicate as a biological State Preserve in 1997 and renamed the Richard W. Pohl Memorial at the Ames High Prairie. The name is in honor of the late Iowan grass taxonomist and prairie advocate.
What to See on the Prairie:
Plants
There are more than 100 plant species at AHS Prairie. These include: alum root, big bluestem, blue-eyed grass, cream wild indigo, downy gentian, giant St. John's wort, ground plum, lead plant, little bluestem, pale coneflower, prairie dandelion, prairie dropseed, prairie Indian plantain, purple prairie clover, rough blazing star, sideoats grama, silky aster, sky-blue aster, thimbleweed and white wild indigo. Animals
More than 100 species of birds have been observed here, including the cardinal, white-breasted nuthatch, American robin and mourning dove. You can also find rare regal fritillary and monarch butterflies at the Prairie. Raccoons and eastern cottontails can be found here as well.
General Info
The Ames High Prairie is one of the only prairies in the state that can be found in the middle of a city. The prairie is owned by the Ames Community School District, but it has a 49-year lease with The Nature Conservancy. It is approximately 27 square acres in area, and has a variety of native grasslands. This preserve is a tallgrass prairie, with lush grasslands commonly found in the midwest; dominately big blue stem and Indian grass. This particular site was purchased by the school district for use as a parking lot or football field. In 1970, however, the school district entered a 49-year lease with The Nature Conservancy. The site was later dedicate as a biological State Preserve in 1997 and renamed the Richard W. Pohl Memorial at the Ames High Prairie. The name is in honor of the late Iowan grass taxonomist and prairie advocate.What to See on the Prairie:
Plants
There are more than 100 plant species at AHS Prairie. These include: alum root, big bluestem, blue-eyed grass, cream wild indigo, downy gentian, giant St. John's wort, ground plum, lead plant, little bluestem, pale coneflower, prairie dandelion, prairie dropseed, prairie Indian plantain, purple prairie clover, rough blazing star, sideoats grama, silky aster, sky-blue aster, thimbleweed and white wild indigo.
Animals
More than 100 species of birds have been observed here, including the cardinal, white-breasted nuthatch, American robin and mourning dove. You can also find rare regal fritillary and monarch butterflies at the Prairie. Raccoons and eastern cottontails can be found here as well.
View Larger Map
http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/iowa/preserves/art2218.html