One of Iowa’s newest wildlife areas was created by a donation from the Hughes family who, in the 1990s, wrote in their will that after their children passed away, their land was to be donated to the state for wildlife management and for everyone to enjoy.
Located in Pleasant Grove township, south of the town of Pleasantville, in western Marion County, the 340-acre Pleasant Prairie Wildlife Area was created in the spring of 2025. It’s divided into two parcels, less than one mile apart.
Pleasant Prairie is fairly hilly with terraces that were installed years ago to help prevent erosion while the land was farmed. Many of those terraces will be removed and restored to the historical contours and natural appearance, during the prairie conversion.
“We don’t want to rush it, but take our time and do it right,” said Todd Gosselink, wildlife biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Red Rock Unit.
Both parcels will focus on quail habitat which includes a seed mix with more short grasses and prairie flowers on certain sites, along with a planting of wild plums. Other sections will have tallgrasses and prairie flowers. A potential 14-acre wetland could be installed on the north end.
Gosselink included a long, narrow sunflower field near the parking lot on the southwest corner. Walking into the growing prairie from the sunflowers, corn stubble is a visible history of the former crop field. The DNR is working with the same tenant who had farmed this area for the Hughes family, to continue the ag practice as portions of the ag field is converted into prairie.
On this late August morning, foxtail has shown up – as expected – as has common ragweed that is loaded with seeds. The young prairie is starting to show – butterfly milkweed, switchgrass, Maximillian sunflowers, side oats gramma, black-eyed Susan, slender false fox glove, goldenrod, little bluestem, wild bergamot, tall vervain, asters and more. Monarchs are fluttering from flower to flower.
“As prairie is getting established, we expect to have early successional growth, like ragweed and foxtail, that is valuable as habitat and as a food source. In the wet soils, we’ll spray off the invasive canary grass, which will also come up in ragweed and then once the prairie is established, these low-lying areas will hold water like a sponge,” he said.
Goldfinches are flying from ragweed plants to the sunflowers along the south edge.
“Pheasants are quail are here,” Gosselink said. “We’ve conducted quail surveys this spring and recorded numerous males calling and with planned habitat improvements, there will be more.”
Heading to the east parcel parking lot – less than a mile away – a hen pheasant darts into the safety of a field.
The east parcel will be similar to the west parcel with a mix of tall grasses in certain areas and short grass in others. Today in the tall grass, showy tic trefoil, big bluestem, gray headed coneflower, swamp milkweed, sawtooth sunflower, tall boneset and sage are the most visible.
The management plan includes removing trees from the terraces and reshaping the terraces to a more natural landscape as well, while keeping and improving the tree and shrub component on this parcel’s northwest side.