Best Nature Conservancy

This Nature Conservancy project in Illinois is notable for its successful large-scale tallgrass prairie restoration efforts and the reintroduction of bison in 2014.

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.

Samuel H. Ordway Memorial Prairie in South Dakota is a 7,800-acre preserve notable for protecting a contiguous expanse of native mixed-grass prairie within the northern Great Plains.

Kankakee Sands Nature Preserve in Indiana is a large restoration project notable for reconnecting isolated wetland and sand prairie habitats, highlighted by a reintroduced bison herd.

Broken Kettle Grasslands in Iowa is the largest remaining contiguous tract of native tallgrass prairie in the state, protecting rugged Loess Hills terrain and prairie rattlesnakes.

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.

Pontotoc Ridge Preserve in Oklahoma is a conservation area notable for protecting a landscape where tallgrass prairie intersects with the ancient Cross Timbers forest ecosystem.

The Jepson Prairie Preserve in California, established in 1987, protects one of the best remaining examples of native bunchgrass prairie and vernal pool ecosystems in the state.

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.