Wetland Prairies

(Abby Brown, host of FIND Iowa is standing in the middle of a wetland prairie. She is wearing a dark blue, short sleeved shirt with dark pants.)

[Abby Brown] Way up in northern Iowa, there's a safe place for birds and other wildlife. It's got the perfect name, Union Slough. It's the union of two watersheds, which makes it swampy. Slough means swamp. So it's called Union Slough.

(A large body of water covered in green, swampy algae surrounded by tall green prairie grass blowing in the wind.

Clumps of prairie grass sticking out of the water like hairs on a bald man's head.

Red sign with white letters and a dark blue and white water bird flying in the upper right-hand corner of the sign. The sign reads "Union Slough National Wildlife Refuge".)

[Abby] So how is this identified as a prairie? Let's go check it out.

(music)

(A single flower with small, white petals, a Boneset flower, with the wetland prairie in the background.)

[Abby] Hey, Tom.

(Tom is wearing a light tan short, sleeve shirt with dark pants.)

[Tom Skilling] Morning.

[Abby] So this is the Prairie Pothole Region, right?

[Tom] Right.

[Abby] How was this made?

[Tom Skilling, Wildlife Biologist] The Prairie Pothole Region is an area in Iowa that's kind of a U-shape goes from like Spirit Lake, to Clear Lake, and down to Des Moines.

(map on screen)

(Iowa Prairie Pothole Region. The pothole region is highlighted on the map in bright green. With Spirit Lake is identified in the upper left-corner of the map one county to the right of where the pothole region starts in Iowa. Clear Lake is labeled on the right-side of the map one half county and three full counties over from Spirit Lake. Des Moines is identified at the bottom of the map. The Pothole region of Iowa looks like an upside down, 3D model of a person's profile from the head to the shoulders. The nose of the face sticks out two counties below Clear Lake.)

[Abby] Okay.

[Tom] It was created by glaciers.

[Abby] Wow.

[Tom] So massive glaciers, like maybe a mile thick.

[Abby] Wow. And they came in and basically flattened this place out, right?

[Tom] Yeah, reshaped everything.

[Abby] And what was left once the glaciers left?

[Tom] Well, when they melted, they left big chunks of ice that that kind of sunk into the ground. And it created all these depressions, lower areas that hold water.

[Abby] That's what the “pothole” is, right?

[Tom] That's what the pothole is.

[Abby] So what's left behind is very unique. Right?

[Tom] Right.

[Abby] How so?

[Tom] Well, you have low ground and plants. Some plants like low ground and wet ground. And then you have higher ground and some plants like that. And then you get the highest ground and some plants like that. So you have a whole different set of plants as you move up the hill.

[Abby] That's fascinating.

(insect sounds)

(A panoramic view of the wetland prairie. A hitching post and rail fence section stands in the prairie. There is a white sign that reads "No vehicles allowed”. Around the fence section are flowers with dark pink petals. Off in the distance you can see a cluster of white petaled flowers.)

[Abby] Now, this has never been disturbed, right? We call this remnant. And how did this piece of land survive when the settlers really wanted to dig it up and farm it?

[Tom] Right. It's a really miraculous because it's not been plowed or drained. And in the middle of Kossuth county, that's unusual for sure.

[Abby] Yeah.

[Tom] It just had a land owner that had some interest in it and they hayed it and did some grazing, but they never plowed it. And so it survived. And good for us.

[Abby] Yeah. Because some of these plants are the same species that were here hundreds and hundreds, or even longer ago?

[Tom] Right. Right. People showed up here about 150 years ago, and the prairie disappeared quickly after that. Within 50 to 60 years, most of it was gone. But this is one of the pieces that survived. And it's very, just a precious piece of ground.

(music)

(A water bird flying over the wetland prairie.)

[Tom] Wetland prairies, first of all, have water, which makes them wet. So then you have a different set of plants that grow there and animals that use that, the variety of birds and muskrats and mink, many things that use wetland prairie.

(A water bird glides and tumbles in the wind over the wetland prairie.)

[Tom] Some of the wetland species would be boneset.

(A flower with white petals like rice sticking up on end on a rounded, flat surface.)

[Tom] Ironweed is a good one.

(A bright purplish-pink flower with clusters of petals like pom-poms at the end of the stem.)

[Tom] Prairie Blazing Star is a beautiful plant.

(A cluster of flowers with purple and white buds running along their stems like white and purple rope lights strung up to make a walk through curtain in a doorway.)

[Tom] Riddell's Goldenrod, one that most people probably don't know, beautiful plant.

(A cluster of yellow petaled flowers like yellow cotton balls at the end of the stem.)

[Tom] Plants and animals like the wetland area, because that's their habitat. I mean, they like, they like water, they like the plants because that's the food they eat. Most animals, especially insects and bugs and that kind of thing, are specific to certain plants. And so the ones that you find in the wetlands are there because of the wetland plants that are there. Some animals lay their eggs in the water. So they have to have water to, you know, to reproduce. Union Slough is a fantastic place for swans

(A white sign with black text, a drawing of a person using binoculars' and images of wetland birds. The text reads Wildlife You May See. Watching wildlife can be a lot of fun. Many wildlife creatures are elusive and wary, so you will need to move slowly and quietly. Early morning and late afternoon are usually the best times to see wildlife. A pair of binoculars is helpful.)

[Tom] because there are 1200 acres of marsh. It's relatively isolated because it's not open to the public generally. So the birds aren't disturbed. Good habitat and they've done really well here.

(music)

[Abby] If I'm just driving down the road my car, how do I identify a wetland prairie?

(music)

[Tom] The best thing is to look at the plants. I mean, if you know the plants, cattails for sure would show you that that's a that's a wetland. The wetland plants tend to be taller actually, because it's wetter.

[Abby] Okay.

[Tom] So sometimes over your head.

[Abby] Oh, wow. And of course, there might be some water.

Tom: Right. And definitely there'll be water. Right. Prairie is awesome.

[Abby] Yeah, it sure is.

[Tom] I mean, there's lots of plants, lots of animals, lots of stuff going on. But you have to stop and get out there and be in it to experience it.

[Abby] Union Slough was so interesting. How might this compare to other wetlands that are in your area? What's the same? What's different? Have fun investigating.

(music)

[Announcer] Funding for FIND Iowa has been provided by the following supporters.

(text on the screen) FIND Iowa, The Coons Foundation, Pella, Gilchrist Foundation

(text on the screen) Iowa PBS Education