News
Updated 6-22-10

Spring 2010 Newsletter 
The spring issue of the Prairie Winds newsletter has been published. Follow this link for a pdf copy. Newsletter (314KB)

Prairie Point Bookstore 
Follow this link for a pdf copy of new books availible at the bookstore. Book List

Refuge Activities 

Three bison and three elk died during March.  All were taken to Iowa State University Veterinary Pathology lab for necropsies.  Results showed the animals died from a variety of causes, and all the bison died from traumatic injuries.  One bull bison was gored by another bison and died from injuries.  One bison calf was hit by a car and suffered severe trauma.  One bison calf suffered trauma, probably caused by another bison, and was unable to get up, so it was euthanized.  An elk bull had been observed injured during the winter and died of infection.  An elk calf was anemic and in poor body condition and had a severe tick infestation.  The last elk death was a cow with poor body condition, but cause of death was not determined.

A total of 954 walk-in visitors visited the Prairie Learning Center, with another 70 people attending meetings at the Visitor Center. Visitor Services staff provided interpretation to 9 visitors and EE programming to 24 people. Off-site Interpretation was presented to 50 people and off-site EE was presented to 175 people. Total visitation was estimated at 14,030.

Rasmussen and Light carried out the Linking Girls to the Land Celebration on March 14th with over 20 girl scouts attending the event. They participated in a number of activities from making bird houses to various stewardship activities.

Two Friends members (Tom Prall – board member and Nancy Gilbertson – Congressional Liaison) attended the Friends Fly-in. They presented information to the Congressional staff on the partner school program, the Rothinghouse property, and invited Secretary Salazar to the November bison health screening.

Prairie Learning Center Room Rentals
The Prairie Learning Center has two meeting spaces available for rent, a small conference room and a large conference room. See the following brochure for a description, fees and requirementsCenter Information

Neal Smith NWR Bird Checklist
Primary sources for this list include refuge personnel, local ornithologists, university researchers, and Iowa bird literature. Not all species listed have been observed within the refuge at the time this list was compiled, but regional distributions of species indicate that they may be observed in the future. Checklist

Iowa Native Plant Database  
This plant database is designed to help you identify what plant species are native to Iowa The database serves as a learning tool by providing descriptive information about individual plants.

All About Birds 
Birding 123, Bird Guide, and everything you wanted to know about birds and birding at Cornell Lab of Ornithology   All About Birds

Events
Updated 06-23-10

Second Saturday Stewardship Workday - July 10, 9:00 a.m.Encounter fellow prairie enthusiasts and actively participate in helping the refuge. Meet at the Prairie Learning Center for task assignments and instructions.

An e-mail description of the up coming workday is sent about once a month. If you would like to be added to the list, send Jonathan an e-mail at jyentis@msn.com

Upcoming Events for 2010 - 2010 is upon us and we have a lot of fun events and activities to look forward to this year. Here is a list of events and dates so you can start marking those calendars now!

September 11th, 2010: Monarch Madness – public monarch tagging day