Golden Prairie facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Golden Prairie |
|
|---|---|
|
IUCN Category III (Natural Monument)
|
|
National Natural Landmark plaque
|
|
 Golden Prairie
Location in Missouri
|
|
| Location | Barton County, Missouri, USA |
| Nearest city | Golden City |
| Area | 630 acres (250 ha) |
| Established | 1970 |
| Governing body | Missouri Prairie Foundation |
| Designated: | 1975 |
Golden Prairie is a special natural area in Missouri, USA. It's a huge tallgrass prairie, which is a type of grassland with very tall grasses. This amazing place covers about 630 acres (that's like 475 football fields!). A big part of it, about 320 acres, is so important that it's called a National Natural Landmark. This means it's recognized for its unique natural features.
Contents
What Makes Golden Prairie Special?
Golden Prairie has a gently rolling landscape. It was formed from different types of rocks like sandstone, shale, and limestone. Because of these different rocks, you can find various kinds of prairie here. These include dry sandstone prairie, chert prairie, and hardpan prairie.
Amazing Animals and Plants
This prairie is home to many rare and interesting creatures. Some animals that are endangered in Missouri live here. These include the prairie mole cricket, the beautiful regal fritillary butterfly, and the Arkansas darter fish.
You might also spot many grassland birds flying around. Look for dickcissels, eastern meadowlarks, grasshopper sparrows, and Henslow's sparrows. Sadly, the prairie chicken, which is federally endangered, hasn't been seen here for a few years.
Golden Prairie is also a paradise for plants. It has over 340 different kinds of vascular plants! You'll see the classic tallgrass prairie plants like big bluestem and prairie dropseed. But you can also find rarer flowers, such as the bright red royal catchfly (Silene regia).
Protecting Golden Prairie
For a long time, people used Golden Prairie to cut hay for their animals. But in the early 1970s, the Missouri Prairie Foundation bought the land. They started working to bring the prairie back to its natural state. This is called prairie restoration.
How We Help the Prairie Thrive
To help the native plants grow strong, the Missouri Prairie Foundation uses special methods. One important method is controlled burns. This means they carefully set small fires to burn off old grass and unwanted plants. This helps new, healthy prairie plants grow. They also remove trees that don't belong in a prairie and control invasive plants that could harm the native ones.
