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The Lower Cedar Valley

 

Lower Cedar Valley

Locations

 

Swamp White Oak Preserve

 

Greiner Family Nature Preserve

 

Red Cedar Woodland

Southeast Iowa’s Lower Cedar Valley hosts two rare plant communities – swamp white oak woodlands and rich peat fens. Perched along the Cedar River, this remarkable wetland region contains a wondrous array of natural diversity – oxbows, sand prairie, peat bogs, floodplain forest and oak savanna. Sandy soils provide habitat for more than 300 plant species and 19 types of reptiles and amphibians, including rare massasauga rattlesnakes and ornate box turtles.

The floodplain oak savannas of the Lower Cedar Valley were established when the forest was more open – when fire and seasonal floods controlled growth. Now, without adequate fire, too many trees grow in an unnatural density, preventing new oak trees from growing. The Cedar River also is flooding unnaturally, causing certain populations of plants and animals to decline. Ecological threats to the region also include harmful non-native species such as reed canary grass and garlic mustard.

The Conservancy currently owns 767 acres here and an additional 20,000 acres have been protected by private landowners and partners. We are working with partners to focus on natural areas management, sharing research and developing science-based conservation plans.
 
The Conservancy’s long-term goals include working with partners to conserve and restore 5,000 acres of swamp white oak and floodplain savannas through controlled fire and other science-based techniques. The Conservancy is working with partners to create a viable aquatic passage to the Mississippi River, providing critical habitat for large freshwater fish that spawn in its tributaries. The Conservancy is initiating groundbreaking floodplain savanna restoration research. A botanical inventory was recently completed and a reptile and amphibian inventory is underway.