Description
Why You Should Visit
This is a great place to see a remnant of the vast tallgrass prairies and savannas that once covered most of southern Wisconsin. Surrounded by an agricultural landscape, the hilltops and valleys at Barneveld Prairie provide habitat for colorful butterflies and uncommon birds that thrive in large, open, treeless landscapes.
Conditions
The primitive, unmarked trail traverses steep terrain.
Why TNC Selected This Site
Once common throughout southern Wisconsin, prairies are very rare today. The Nature Conservancy is working to conserve and restore some of the few remaining remnants.
TNC purchased its first 79 acres at Barneveld Prairie in 1997 from Harold Thomas. In October 2002, TNC bought an additional 892 acres at Barneveld Prairie from Dr. Richard and Margaret Botham. Located in the Town of Brigham, the property contains a diverse mix of prairie remnants, prairie pastures*, CRP lands, oak savanna, alfalfa fields, wetlands, row crop fields, and wooded draws. It provides important habitat for grassland birds like meadowlarks, bobolinks, vesper and grasshopper sparrows, dickcissels, and upland sandpipers, whose populations are declining worldwide.
Loss of suitable habitat and the fragmentation of surviving grasslands are two of the major reasons for these declines. This parcel of land has been named the Muehllehner Addition to Barneveld Prairie in honor of Ursula and Gerd Muehllehner who made a generous donation to cover almost half of the acquisition cost.
*Two of these pastures are still being actively grazed. For your own safety please do not scale fences or open gates, and stay out of pastures that are currently being grazed.
What TNC Has Done/Is Doing
Like much of the remaining prairie remnants, the absence of fire at Barneveld has allowed non-native plants and native shrubs to overtake native grasses and flowers. TNC volunteers are helping restore the prairie by:
- Removing buckthorn, honeysuckle, prickly ash, and other invading trees and shrubs,
- Mending and removing old fences, and
- Collecting the seeds of native wildflowers for use in future prairie plantings.
In addition to the land TNC owns and manages at Barneveld Prairie Preserve, we have assisted partners in protecting an additional 190 acres.
