MANSON, Iowa - The 160-acre Kalsow Prairie State Preserve in southeast Pocahontas County is one of the rarest habitats in the state – a never-been-plowed remnant prairie in the heart of Iowa farm country.
This small piece of living history was part of the Kalsow family farm and served as a hayfield and pasture before it was acquired by the Iowa Conservation Commission in the late 1940s. The parcel was surveyed by professor Ada Hayden – yes, that Ada Hayden – who wrote in her report about the importance of preserving this area due to its extraordinary biological diversity. More than 250 different plant species having been documented here, with only 24 of those being grasses.
It was one of the first 10 areas in Iowa designated as a state preserve in 1968 under the State Preserves Act (1965), that defined a preserve and established a system of state preserves in Iowa.
The unique piece of land supports smooth green snakes, two spotted skippers, regal fritillaries, common yellow throats, short eared owls, upland sandpipers, bobolinks, dickcissels, Henslow’s sparrows, northern harriers, bobwhite quail and more.
The prairie is home to white prairie clover, Canada milkvetch, panic grass, prairie sage, prairie blazing star, big blue stem, Canada wild rye, compass plant, golden Alexander, round-headed bush clover, sullivant’s milkweed, showy tick trefoil, and swamp milkweed, just to name a few.
Exiting the dew covered, mosquito filled prairie to the safety of the gravel road on this hot July morning, bobwhite quail can be herd whistling from the southwest and western edge of the area. A rooster pheasant can be heard crowing nearby. The area is open to public hunting.
“Someone thought enough of this landscape to keep it for what it is,” said Clint Maddix, wildlife biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources’ Blackhawk Unit.
The slightly rolling, northwest Iowa land has a few shallow seasonal wetlands on it with a small, narrow, nearly hidden water source on the northwest part of the area. This is the largest remnant prairie in Pocahontas County and one of the larger remnants outside of the Little Sioux River valley.
The management plan includes rotating and targeting prescribed fire at different timed intervals during the year to stimulate prairie plants and to set back introduced cool season grasses.
“Maintaining the plant diversity here is a priority,” Maddix said. “We have been varying the timing of prescribed fire and attempting to minimize the impact on certain plant species and insects, while still trying to knock back the brome.”
For prairie enthusiasts, Kalsow Prairie State Preserve yields a plethora of diversity. For the passer-by, the area provides a glimpse into the sea of prairie and wetlands that blanketed Pocahontas County pre-settlement.