Greiner Family Nature Preserve

	Greiner Family Nature Preserve ©
	Directions   From Muscatine (from the south): Go north on Iowa 38 about 4.8 miles from its intersection with U.S. 61 to 150th Street. Then go west about 1.75 miles on 150th Street to an access lane on the south side of the road. Park on the road opposite the farm place. Please do not block the driveway. From Interstate 80 (from the north): Go south on Iowa 38 about 7.8 miles from its intersection with Interstate 80 (3 miles south of its intersection with U.S. 6) to 150th Street. Then go west about 1.75 miles on 150th Street to an access lane on the south side of the road. Park on the road opposite the farm place. Please do not block the driveway.
	Other Projects in the Area
	Swamp White Oak Preserve
	Red Cedar Woodland

The Greiner Family preserve is a sand prairie and wetland area. Because of the unique combination of soil and water, a rare plant call meadow beauty is found right at the edge of the wetland at this site.

Why You Should Visit
Greiner Family Nature Preserve features a complex of dry sand ridges intermingled with springs, seeps and a large basin marsh, all of which support a unique assemblage of rare plants and animals.

Location
About 6 miles northwest of Muscatine, in Muscatine County

Size
137 acres

Conditions
Greiner preserve is a wetland, characterized by wet saturated soils and shallow open ponds of water (and plant and animal species that thrive in these conditions).

Preserve Visitation Guidelines

What to See: Plants
Plant species here include: beebalm (also known as Oswego tea or wild bergamot), black oak, black walnut, buttonbush, dwarf dandelion, eastern prickly pear, flowering spurge, hoary puccoon, largeleaf pondweed, meadow beauty, monkey flower, partridge pea, prairie ragwort, pussytoes, river birch, rough blazing star, round-headed bush clover, sand milkweed, spotted horsemint, wafer ash.

What to See: Animals
Amphibians and reptiles here include the western painted turtle, six-lined racerunner, Blanding’s turtle, eastern hognose snake, spring peeper, green frog and ornate box turtle.

Why the Conservancy Selected This Site
Greiner Family Nature Preserve was acquired by the Conservancy in 1986. The original 31.6 acres was donated by Linda Ambrose and Jerrideth Wilson as a memorial to their family, the Greiners, and their love of nature. The site was originally called Rhexia Pond, for the showy flowers of the state-threatened meadow beauty found along the margins of the basin marsh.

What the Conservancy Has Done/Is Doing
An 85.5-acre addition to the preserve was purchased from John and Ruth Phillips in 1988, with assistance from the Muscatine Prairie Endowment Fund. Oak savanna, sand prairie and open sandy areas – all essential to nesting turtles – are being restored through intensive management efforts.