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Hoffman Prairie State Preserve, A Joint Field Trip with the Iowa Native Plant Society
Saturday, July 27, 2019 @ 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Where: Cerro County (north central Iowa), Iowa
When: Saturday July 27th, 2019 (12PM-2PM)
Leaders: Mark J. Leoschke, Botanist, Wildlife Bureau of the Iowa DNR & Larissa Mottl, Ecologist, Stantec
Join us for a joint field tour with members of the Iowa Native Plant Society! We’ll visit Hoffman Prairie State Preserve, a tallgrass prairie pothole complex with mesic to wet prairie and pothole marshes of various sizes, near the city of Clear Lake in Cerro Gordo County, north-central Iowa. Owned by The Nature Conservancy, this 36-acre preserve supports over 150 plant species. Some of the summer blooms at the preserve include butterfly weed, Indian paintbrush, prairie coreopsis, prairie larkspur, showy tick-trefoil, pale purple coneflower, rattlesnake master, compass plant, wood lily, and white camass.
The tour will be led by botanist Mark Leoschke, botanist for the Wildlife Bureau of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources in Des Moines. MN NPS member, Larissa Mottl, will help organize a carpool from Minnesota. There are two natural areas near the Hoffman Prairie State Preserve that are also worth a botanical hike while folks are in the Clear Lake area–Union Hills Wildlife Area and Pilot Knob State Preserve. Please contact Larissa (651-272-5237) if you’d like to carpool and if you’re interested in a hike at the other preserves.
Directions: This state preserve is located just north of U.S. Highway 18 between Clear Lake and Ventura. From the intersection of U.S. Interstate Highway 35 and State Highway 18 in Clear Lake in Cerro Gordo County (Interstate Interchange #194) drive west on U.S. Highway 18 (you will pass by a number of businesses including fast food restaurants, regular restaurants, convenience store/gas stations, a Fareway grocery store, etc.). Travel approximately 5 miles to Cardinal Avenue (a gravel road just west of the preserve. There is a sign for the prairie on the north side of the road) and turn north (right). Park your vehicle on the east (right) side of Cardinal Avenue (43.134557, -93.457882). Bring boots if you want to visit the wetter portions of the preserve.
Carpooling will be an option for participants for attending this field trip. Trip leader Larissa Mottl will be arranging this for the folks from Minnesota going down to Iowa for the day.
Field trips are open to MNNPS members only and pre-registration is required. Send an email to Ken Arndt at ken.arndt@mnrinc.us to register.