Dinesen Prairie
Evening Burn
Native Prairie
Just one-and-a-half centuries ago, tall prairie grasses and brilliantly colored wildflowers rustled over four-fifths of Iowa. The vast broad prairie which once covered most of Iowa no longer exists, having given way to row crop farming. The rich black soils created by the prairie plants are among the most productive in the world. This change in farming has also made native prairie a rare sight, with only small remnants of untouched prairie in all Iowa.
However, bits of Iowa's past do remain. Lands common a century ago are priceless today - priceless because of their educational and research value: priceless because of those nature studies and artistic pursuits possible here alone; priceless because of diverse species, some on the brink of extinction. Once gone, these lands and the species they shelter cannot be recreated. If we are to preserve Iowa's remaining native ecosystems they must be sought out and protected now.
In 1984, Derald Dinesen donated 21 acres of native prairie to the Shelby County Conservation Board. The "Dinesen Prairie Preserve", is a true virgin prairie, laced with flowers and grasses growing over six feet in height. This area provides habitat for wildlife such as songbirds, small mammals, game and non-games species alike, creating a "living classroom" for nature study. Wildflowers, as well as their habitats tend to be fragile, such flowers are better left growing as nature intended and preserved by memory and photograph. The area exists in a preserved state, and prohibits the taking of anything from the site except pictures. Therefore hunting is not allowed.
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