Best Nature Conservancy

The Glacial Ridge Project is a major tallgrass prairie and wetland restoration initiative located in northwestern Minnesota. Overseen primarily by The Nature Conservancy, the project focuses on restoring thousands of acres of landscape that had previously been drained for agricultural use. It is rec...

The Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in Oklahoma protects one of the world’s last significant examples of native tallgrass prairie ecosystems. This area represents a crucial conservation effort, safeguarding a unique habitat and supporting a substantial bison population. It is valuable for researchers stu...

Black Mesa Preserve is a nature reserve located in the Oklahoma panhandle, managed by The Nature Conservancy. The preserve protects a basalt mesa formed by ancient lava flows and contains the highest point in the state of Oklahoma at 4,973 feet. The area is ecologically significant for its mix of sh...

The Nature Conservancy's Platte River Prairies is a protected grassland preserve located in central Nebraska, United States. The area serves as a living laboratory for large-scale prairie restoration and ecological management, utilizing techniques like prescribed fire and rotational grazing. It prot...

Four Canyon Preserve is a protected natural area situated in northwestern Oklahoma, managed by The Nature Conservancy. The preserve safeguards a diverse landscape encompassing mixed-grass prairie, cross timbers forests, and rugged canyon topography along the Canadian River. It provides an important...

Smoky Valley Ranch is a nature preserve located in the Smoky Hills region of western Kansas, managed by The Nature Conservancy. Encompassing thousands of acres of mixed-grass and shortgrass prairie, the protected area safeguards a vital ecosystem for native wildlife and migrating birds. The ranch al...

The Samuel H. Ordway Jr. Memorial Preserve is a vast protected area of mixed-grass and tallgrass prairie located in South Dakota. Managed by The Nature Conservancy since 1975, the preserve spans thousands of acres of native northern plains grasslands. It is distinguished by its resident bison herd,...

Located in north-central Montana, the Matador Ranch is a conservation initiative operated by The Nature Conservancy. It functions as a grassbank, a collaborative model where local ranchers are permitted to graze their cattle on the ranch's land at a reduced cost. In exchange, these ranchers agree to...

Hole-in-the-Mountain Prairie Preserve is a tallgrass prairie reserve in southwestern Minnesota, United States, managed by The Nature Conservancy. It protects a tract of native grassland along the Buffalo Ridge in Lincoln County, supporting populations of prairie-dependent plants and grassland birds....

The Nachusa Grasslands are a significant Illinois prairie ecosystem representing one of the largest remaining contiguous tallgrass prairie remnants in North America. Restoration work, including extensive seeding and invasive species management, has revived this landscape. The reintroduction of Ameri...

Spring Green Preserve Prairie in Wisconsin is a nature area notable for its arid sand prairie ecosystem, which features rare species adapted to harsh desert-like geological conditions.

The Samuel H. Ordway Jr. Memorial Preserve is a protected natural area in north-central South Dakota managed by The Nature Conservancy. Covering roughly 7,800 acres, it preserves native mixed-grass prairie, wetlands, and other northern Great Plains habitats. The preserve supports research, conservat...

Kankakee Sands is a large conservation and habitat-restoration area in northwestern Indiana managed by The Nature Conservancy. Its landscape includes sand prairie, wetlands, savanna, and restored grasslands within the former Grand Kankakee Marsh region, providing habitat for diverse plants, birds, i...

Broken Kettle Grasslands is a Nature Conservancy preserve in the Loess Hills of western Iowa. It protects the state's largest remaining contiguous tract of native prairie, where steep ridges and deep valleys formed from wind-deposited loess support tallgrass and mixed-grass communities. The preserve...

The Platte River Prairies in Nebraska are a network of protected grasslands managed by the Nature Conservancy to restore native tallgrass prairie along the central flyway. These diverse habitats span over 5,000 acres and support numerous species of migratory birds, including the endangered Whooping...

Pontotoc Ridge Preserve is a nature conservation area located in southern Pontotoc County, Oklahoma. Managed by The Nature Conservancy, the preserve protects a unique ecotone where tallgrass prairie intersects with the ancient Cross Timbers forest. The terrain features rugged hills and old-growth po...

Jepson Prairie Preserve is a protected grassland and vernal-pool landscape in Solano County, California, within the Sacramento Valley. Established as a preserve in 1987, it safeguards native prairie habitat and seasonal pools that fill during the rainy season and dry later in the year. These pools s...

Lulu Lake Prairie in Wisconsin is a state natural area highly regarded for its pristine calcareous fen, diverse sedge meadows, and rare wetland plants.

Managed by The Nature Conservancy, Cross Ranch Nature Preserve Prairie in North Dakota protects crucial floodplain and upland native prairie habitats.

Hole-in-the-Mountain Prairie in southwestern Minnesota is a prominent nature preserve protecting steep, dry gravel prairies along the glacial ridge of the Buffalo Ridge.

Somme Prairie Grove in Cook County, Illinois, is a notable preserve distinguished by its ongoing ecological restoration of rare oak savanna habitat.

The Pembina Trail Preserve in Minnesota is a protected wet tallgrass aspen parkland, safeguarding a unique transition ecosystem between prairie and northern boreal forest.

Willa Cather Memorial Prairie in Nebraska is a restored grassland notable for honoring the famous author, who immortalized the region's tallgrass landscapes in her classic American novels.

Gensberg-Markham Prairie is an Illinois Nature Preserve located in Cook County, notable for protecting wet and mesic tallgrass prairie within the Chicago metropolitan area.

The Vina Plains Preserve in California protects a large expanse of unique vernal pool ecosystems and native grassland, serving as a critical habitat for rare local flora.

Chippewa Prairie in western Minnesota is a notable 2,000-acre preserve that protects remnants of northern tallgrass prairie along the Chippewa River watershed.

Parkhill Prairie Preserve in Collin County, Texas, is a public park notable for preserving and restoring 50 acres of native Blackland tallgrass prairie, a critically endangered ecosystem.

Spring Valley Prairie in Illinois is a notable nature area recognized for its preserved native tallgrass ecosystems and environmental education programs.