Peterson Field Guides: the North American Prairie

by Cushman, Ruth Carol

• ISBN13: 9780618179305
• ISBN10: 0618179305
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-03-27
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Summary

The North American prairie extends across eighteen states and provinces in the heartland of the United States and Canada, and many prairie preserves are within easy driving distance of large cities. This new field guide provides detailed profiles of 48 major North American prairie preserves and capsule descriptions of 120 smaller preserves. Each preserve profile includes practical information on what times of year to visit, how to get there, where to go hiking and camping--and even boating. Each profile also covers weather conditions and wildlife of special interest, in addition to the flora, fauna, and natural history of the preserve. More than 250 stunning color photos illustrate everything from scarab dung beetles and orchids to bison wallows and hailstorms.

Table of Contents

Map of Area Covered	p. ii
Acknowledgments	p. xi
Introduction	p. 1
Ecology of the North American Prairie Region	p. 7
Evolving Prairie	p. 9
Plants	p. 22
Wildlife	p. 41
Human Impacts	p. 67
Where to See the Prairie	p. 83
United States
Colorado	p. 84
Comanche National Grassland	p. 86
Pawnee National Grassland	p. 93
Other Colorado Sites	p. 100
Illinois	p. 102
Goose Lake Prairie State Natural Area	p. 104
Nachusa Grasslands	p. 110
Other Illinois Sites	p. 116
Iowa	p. 118
Broken Kettle Grasslands Preserve	p. 120
Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge	p. 126
Other Iowa Sites	p. 132
Kansas	p. 134
Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area	p. 136
Cimmaron National Grassland	p. 143
Konza Prairie	p. 149
Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve	p. 155
Other Kansas Sites	p. 162
Minnesota	p. 164
Bluestem Prairie Scientific and Natural Area	p. 166
Pipestone Quarry National Monument and Blue Mounds State Park	p. 172
Wallace C. Dayton Conservation and Wildlife Area	p. 177
Other Minnesota Sites	p. 184
Missouri	p. 186
Prairie State Park	p. 188
Wah' Kon-Tah Prairie	p. 195
Other Missouri Sites	p. 201
Montana	p. 204
Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area and Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument	p. 206
Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge	p. 213
Other Montana Sites	p. 220
Nebraska	p. 222
Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge	p. 224
Lillian Annette Rowe Sanctuary	p. 231
Niobrara Valley Preserve	p. 238
Oglala National Grassland	p. 244
Valentine National Wildlife Refuge	p. 251
Other Nebraska Sites	p. 257
New Mexico	p. 260
Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge	p. 262
Capulin Volcano National Monument	p. 269
Kiowa and Rita Blanca National Grasslands	p. 275
Other New Mexico Sites	p. 282
North Dakota	p. 284
Cross Ranch State Park and Cross Ranch Nature Preserve	p. 286
Little Missouri National Grassland and Theodore Roosevelt National Park	p. 292
Lostwood and Des Lacs National Wildlife Refuges	p. 300
Sheyenne National Grassland and Brown Ranch and Pigeon Point Preserves	p. 308
Other North Dakota Sites	p. 316
Oklahoma	p. 318
Tallgrass Prairie Preserve	p. 320
Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge	p. 327
Other Oklahoma Sites	p. 334
South Dakota	p. 336
Badlands National Park	p. 338
Buffalo Gap National Grassland	p. 345
Fort Pierre National Grassland	p. 352
Grand River and Cedar River National Grasslands	p. 358
Wind Cave National Park and Custer State Park	p. 365
Other South Dakota Sites	p. 373
Texas	p. 376
Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument and Lake Meredith National Recreation Area	p. 378
Caddo and Lyndon B. Johnson National Grasslands	p. 384
Muleshoe and Buffalo Lake National Wildlife Refuges	p. 390
Other Texas Sites	p. 397
Wisconsin	p. 400
Chiwaukee Prairie	p. 402
Other Wisconsin Sites	p. 408
Wyoming	p. 410
Thunder Basin National Grassland	p. 412
Other Wyoming Sites	p. 418
Canada
Alberta	p. 420
Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump	p. 422
Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park	p. 427
Other Alberta Sites	p. 433
Manitoba	p. 434
Birds Hill Provincial Park	p. 436
Manitoba Tallgrass Prairie Preserve	p. 442
Other Manitoba Sites	p. 450
Saskatchewan	p. 452
Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park	p. 454
Grasslands National Park	p. 461
Last Mountain Lake National Wildlife Area	p. 468
Other Saskatchewan Sites	p. 474
Prairie Preserves in Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Ontario	p. 477
Common and Scientific Names of Plants Mentioned in Text	p. 480
References	p. 488
Index	p. 497
Table of Contents provided by Rittenhouse. All Rights Reserved.