The varied tapestry of the tallgrass, mixed-grass, and short-grass prairies reaches from the eastern woodlands and oak savannas to the foothills of the Rockies. Grasses and wildflowers make good use of limited rainfall, and fire helps sustain the ecosystem. Prairies provide habitats for many animals, including the pronghorn — North America’s’ fastest land animal — and the prairie dog, one of many burrowing animals that live on the prairies
Settlers’ steel plows altered the landscape and transformed life on the prairies.
Native prairie is rare today; remaining patches exist because of careful management and diligent preservation efforts.
Purple Prairie Clover
Dalea purpurea
Canada Goose
Branta canadensis
Pronghorn
Antilocapra americana
Badger
Taxidea taxus
Buffalo Grass
Buchloe dactyloides
Harvester Ant
Pogonomyrmex occidentalis
Burrowing Owl
Athene cunicularia
Eastern Short-horned Lizard
Phrynosoma douglasii brevirostre
Plains Pocket Gopher
Geomys bursarius
Sharp-tailed Grouse
Tympanuchus phasianellus
Bison
Bison bison
Wild Alfalfa
Psoralidium tenuiflorum
Black-tailed Prairie Dog
Cynomys ludovicianus
Swainson's Hawk
Buteo swainsoni
Plains Spadefoot
Spea bombifrons
Prairie Rattlesnake
Crotalus viridis viridis
Painted Lady Butterfly
Vanessa cardui
Prairie Coneflower
Ratibida columnifera
Prairie Wild Rose
Rosa arkansana
Dung Beetle
Canthon pilularius
Little Bluestem
Schizachyrium scoparium
Ord's Kangaroo Rat
Dipodomys ordii
Two-striped Grasshopper
Melanoplus bivittatus
Camel Cricket
Ceuthophilus pallidus
Western Meadowlark
Sturnella neglecta
