~by Denise O’Brien Van for the Greene County Historical Society
The Tipton Prairie southeast of Cooper near Squirrel Hollow is perhaps the best virgin prairie in the state.
Owned by Greene County Conservation, the four-acre plot is home to more than 180 species of native plants, according to Chris Henning of the local Friends of Parks, a local organization dedicated to enhancing the county’s parks.
“It’s one of the best, if not the best, of the virgin prairies left in Iowa,” says Henning. “It’s a jewel of a prairie.”
The Park Friends and the Greene County Historical Society will sponsor a free program on Tipton by Thomas Rosburg Sunday, March 23, at 2 pm at the Museum, 219 E. Lincoln Way in Jefferson. Snow date for the event is March 30.
He’ll inform the audience about “What Every Iowan Should Understand about Iowa’s Prairie Heritage.”
Rosburg is a prairie expert. He recently surveyed Tipton, identifying the 180-plus native plants and taking soil samples. And he’s coming up with a management plan to rid the plot of invasive non-native plants without the use of chemicals.
A biology professor at Drake University in Des Moines, Rosburg is also a farmer, practicing regenerative agriculture on his small holding. He established the Drake Prairie Rescue and Restoration Program in 2003. It has provided hands-on experience in prairie ecology for more than 300 students and helped save prairies on 65 sites across Iowa. Later this spring, Rosburg will lead walks of the Tipton Prairie so Greene Countians can see firsthand “this jewel of a prairie.”
