Dewey's Pasture and Smith's Slough
The Dewey's Pasture Wildlife Complex, also called Dewey's Pasture and Smith's Slough, is the collective name of an 8,000-acre land parcel that contains a set of glacial features. It is located in Palo Alto County, with a small portion in Clay County in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is a National Natural Landmark, designated in 1975.
Description
[edit]The Iowa Department of Natural Resources, the custodian of the Wildlife Complex, describes it as a "combination of prairies, shallow lakes, wetlands and oak savanna."[1]
Formerly managed as the shallow "Trumbull Lake",[1] the Dewey's Pasture complex is today managed as a complex of wetlands, oriented towards a diverse population of wading birds and shore birds.[2] The re-management, including the cutting of non-native trees, is locally controversial.[3] Dewey's Pasture was named as an Iowa Bird Conservation Area in 2006. The wetland bird complex supports locally rare species such as the American bittern.[3] The complex also supports deer, pheasants, reptiles, amphibians, wetland fish, butterflies, and dragonflies.[1]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Dewey's Pasture Wildlife Complex is a bucket list destination". Iowa Department of Natural Resources. July 28, 2020. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
- ^ "Dewey's Pasture BCA". Iowa Audubon Society. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
- ^ a b Rood, Lee. "DNR: Some trees must fall for important prairie habitat". Des Moines Register. Des Moines. Retrieved May 20, 2023.