Muscatine Plant and Big Sand Mound Nature Preserve

About the Program
The Muscatine Plant is located on 585 acres along the Mississippi River. In contrast with the rich, dark soil commonly found throughout the rest of the state, the site sits on dry, sandy soils similar to those found in the Great Plains. This type of habitat is crucial to local threatened and endangered fauna, such as the yellow mud turtle. The majority of the site is covered in sand prairie vegetation with woodlands bordering the Mississippi River. The plant also borders Big Sand Mound Nature Preserve. The preserve is 510 acres of sand prairie, floodplain, forest and wetlands and was founded in the late 1970's; Bayer donated additional acreage to the preserve in 1981. The monitoring and management of the habitat and species is done in coordination with the Big Sand Mound Nature Preserve Committee. 

Practices and Impacts

• In 2013, a 20-acre plot of land was set aside and developed as quail habitat with consultation from Pheasants Forever. The plot was improved in 2020 with a more sustainable, native food plot planted in coordination with The Nature Conservancy. 
• The Muscatine Plant offers the community outdoor education opportunities at the prairie restoration area, butterfly garden and nearby Big Sand Mound Nature Preserve. Fifth graders from Franklin Elementary School visit the site four times a year to see how the prairie changes throughout the year.
• Two and a half acres have been converted to a butterfly garden along the northern edge of the prairie. The garden features numerous wildflower species that attract butterflies and other pollinators. The project includes pollinator signage installed as part of an Eagle Scout project. The garden is a Blank Park Zoo Certified Pollinator Habitat and a Monarch Research Project Certified Pollinator Zone. 
• The site includes 158 acres of wetlands which are regularly monitored by researchers and local students. Macroinvertebrates are surveyed regularly and water quality is tested. Radio telemetry and swim traps are also used to monitor the local herpetological community. 
• The team also supports extensive and long-term research by students from local colleges. Long term studies have been ongoing within the preserve since 1979. Examples of some of the research projects include a drift fence study, herpetological tracking with radio telemetry, avian surveys, pitfall trapping, butterfly monitoring, and flora inventories. These studies cover several state threatened and endangered species: yellow mud turtle (state endangered), ornate box turtle (state threatened), Western hognose snake (state endangered), plans pocket mouse (state endangered), Southern bog lemming (state threatened) and the least shrew (state threatened).