Description
Surrounded by thousands of acres of cool forest and meadows, the 245-acre preserve is home to uncommon wildflowers, mixed-conifer and aspen forests, a rare grove of Bebb willows, herds of elk and deer, porcupine, badgers, more than 120 species of birds, and more than 280 plant species.
Hart Prairie Preserve, with its historic lodge and cabins, was donated to The Nature Conservancy in 1994 by a local family, when they discovered that their property held a globally rare community of Bebb willow trees.
Much of the work at the preserve focuses on the Bebb willow community, the largest known in the world. TNC staff also works closely with partners at the U.S. Forest Service, and various departments at Northern Arizona University on ecological restoration activities within the preserve and in the surrounding National Forest.