A Progress Report on the Preservation of the Prairie

In accord with the specifications of the Prairie Project sponsored by the Iowa Academy of Science, the following recommendations for preservation of prairie have been co-operatively formulated; a number of the most desirable remaining tracts of prairie representative of virgin soils, flora, and fauna have been described and photographed. Not all of the tracts reported in the survey of the state by counties have been yet inspected. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PRESERVATION OF PRAIRIE: The preceding brief report on Prairie Areas in Iowa, (Hayden, 1941) which should be preserved has shown: 1. That preservation of representative, selected prairie areas is a practical measure essential for the protection and best use of such natural resources as soil, water, vegetation, and wildlife. 2. It designates the location of the principle areas which should be preserved because they illustrate (1) the location of characteristic soil types of prairie origin, as well as (2) the chief types of vegetation and plant communities with their floral constituents and associated wildlife. 3. It specifies the geographic location of the areas which should be preserved and refers them to the topographic and climatic sections of the state which produced them through natural processes