Reclaiming Iowa’s Natural History: The Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge
By Eddie Mercado
Photography by Eddie Mercado and Tom Moon
An early fall sunrise crested over I-80 in my rearview mirror. Staci and I were headed west on our way to participate in a guided walk on the Tallgrass Trail within the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge (NSNWR). It was our first opportunity to visit the refuge, and we were excited to lay eyes on the prairie restoration work happening within the 6,000 acres currently owned and managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) near Prairie City. The site includes tallgrass prairie, oak savanna, and sedge meadow ecosystems that were once a common part of Iowa’s native landscape. It is also home to publicly managed herds of bison and elk, and we were thrilled at the possibility of seeing a place where Iowa’s past, present, and future are on public display.
Tallgrass prairie and oak savanna at Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge. Photo by Eddie Mercado.
As we approached the refuge’s entrance, it didn’t take long before the unique landscape of the area revealed itself. One can almost imagine a view of what Iowa must have looked like to some of its earliest human inhabitants. Hillside after hillside of former cropland was once again covered in a diverse variety of native grass and flower species. Yellow blossomed everywhere. It was a great day for a walk through tallgrass prairie, an ecosystem that once covered about 80 percent of Iowa. Sadly, less than 0.1 percent of Iowa’s original prairie remains.
Originally established as the Walnut Creek National Wildlife Refuge in 1990, the refuge was officially renamed by Congress as the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge in the late 1990s to recognize the leadership of former Iowa U.S. Congressman Neal Edward Smith, who was instrumental in its creation and funding. The refuge’s establishment marked one of the largest tallgrass prairie reconstruction projects in North America. Smith used his position on the House Appropriations Committee to help secure initial federal funding in 1990, when Congress appropriated $6 million for the USFWS to acquire land. The USFWS was authorized to expand the refuge to 8,665 acres within the Walnut Creek watershed, and in April 1991 it purchased its first major parcel, approximately 3,600 acres, from Redlands Corporation, a subsidiary of Iowa Power. The company had purchased the land for a proposed nuclear power station following the energy crisis in the 1970s, but those plans were ultimately abandoned in the late 1980s.
Bison grazing on tallgrass prairie at Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge. Photo by Tom Moon.
The site introduced its herds in the 1990s as part of its ongoing mission to reconstruct the native tallgrass prairie and oak savanna ecosystems. Bison were reintroduced in 1996, with the animals arriving in the fall. Now they number around 80 animals. Elk were reintroduced two years later in 1998 and now number around 20 animals. Both herds roam together inside a fenced 800-acre prairie enclosure, serving an ecological role as natural grazers to help manage and maintain the native plant species. One needs only visit the refuge to see that they are doing an incredible job.
Our tour group pauses along the Tallgrass Trail at Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge.
Photo contributed by Rachel Ruden and Friends of NSNWR.
As we began our walk, we were introduced to our guides for the morning. Rachel Ruden is the state wildlife veterinarian for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and also a board member of the Friends of Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge. Joining her were Hunter Willman, the refuge’s biological science technician for the season, and eight other members of the public who had come from all over the state to be there. Among the group was photographer Tom Moon. As a frequent participant in these nature walks, he was known to our hosts by name. Tom had already located the herds before arriving and told us where we could find and photograph the star attractions. We might not see them on our walk, he said, but if we drove to the other side of the park, we would hopefully see a glimpse.
Our hosts kindly shared their wisdom and experience as we sauntered along the trail, taking in the wonder of our surroundings. As far as the eye could see, the only signs of human activity, apart from our small group, were the path, an occasional sign, and the visitor center. We asked many questions, took time for photos, and scanned the fields for glimpses of bison and elk.
Exploring Iowa’s prairie landscape on a guided walk at Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge. Photo by Eddie Mercado.
We learned that the Friends of NSNWR has existed since the early 1990s to support the USFWS in its mission to rebuild the tallgrass prairie within the refuge. We also learned that funding constraints and staffing shortages have affected the refuge, making support from groups like the Friends of NSNWR even more important. Indeed, similar funding and staffing challenges have affected national wildlife refuges across the country. Later that day, we would stop by a local barn sale being sponsored by the Friends of NSNWR to help raise funds to support the refuge’s work. We bought lots of stuff thinking that if federal funding wasn’t keeping pace with the refuge’s needs, at least we could help in our own small way.
In a March 2026 report by Iowa Public Radio, refuge manager Scott Gilje said funding had been declining or remaining flat over the previous 20 years. Visitor services manager Nancy Corona said the staff had dropped from about nine people to three, leaving those remaining to cover multiple responsibilities. A seemingly impossible task.
Beyond the tallgrass prairie stands the refuge’s closed Prairie Learning Center. Photo by Eddie Mercado.
In July 2024, a severe hailstorm damaged the Prairie Learning Center’s roof, causing flooding. The visitor center has remained closed to the public since the storm and is slated for a $7 million rebuilding and renovation project. Refuge staff said in March 2026 they hoped to complete construction in fall 2028. Educational programs were held at the center before its closure, and the refuge wants to continue offering those opportunities. However, budget constraints, operating costs, and staffing shortages have shaped plans for a smaller building and a greater emphasis on outdoor education. Staff members are exploring ways to accommodate visiting groups through features such as an expanded learning garden and an outdoor education pavilion.
Gilje said the learning center’s footprint would shrink from approximately 40,000 square feet to 20,000. Once the redesigned layout is finalized, refuge staff can determine how to use the remaining exhibit and classroom spaces. These plans come amid continued uncertainty over federal conservation funding. The 2026 administration’s proposed budget for the following fiscal year included a roughly 20 percent reduction in annual discretionary funding for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service compared with 2026 levels. The request also proposed reducing National Wildlife Refuge System funding from approximately $522 million to $417 million.
It would have been easy to fume over what was happening to this incredible facility and natural resource, but our guides were quick to redirect our attention to more positive topics. Their commitment to and love for the refuge were both evident in their hopeful positivity. We were reminded that we were in the midst of the fall migration along the Mississippi Flyway. Across the contiguous U.S., millions of birds migrate each night during the fall season, their movements tracked by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s BirdCast.
Monarch or Viceroy?
These orange-and-black lookalikes have one telltale difference: the viceroy’s hindwings have an extra curved black line that the monarch's wings lack.
Viceroy: A curved black line crosses each hindwing, distinguishing it from the similar-looking monarch. Photo by Tom Moon.
Monarch: Its orange hindwings lack the curved black line found on a viceroy. Photo by Tom Moon.
The week before our visit, the refuge held a “Monarch Madness” event to capture, tag, and release monarch butterflies during their peak migration in central Iowa on their way to winter in Mexico. The tagging process enables researchers to study migration patterns and informs conservation efforts. The kaleidoscope of monarchs in the refuge was breathtaking, and they floated all around us as we walked along the path.
The generation that makes the long, perilous trek to Mexico is called the “super generation.” It is often described as the fourth generation of the annual cycle, although some late-emerging third-generation monarchs also make the journey. These monarchs are biologically different from the generations that precede them. While summer monarchs live only about two to six weeks as adults, the super generation puts reproduction on hold through a state called reproductive diapause. This and other adaptations can help them survive for seven to eight months. This increased lifespan gives them enough time to fly up to 3,000 miles from Canada and the United States down to the mountain forests of central Mexico, survive the winter, and start the journey back north the following spring. Such amazing fortitude and motivation from such a beautifully fragile creature.
Bison have the right of way. Signs remind drivers to stay in their cars and on the road during the refuge’s auto tour—and when the herd crosses, visitors wait on bison time. Photos by Eddie Mercado.
Then Staci pointed to a spot on a distant hill. “There’s a bison,” she said. A lone male bison stood on a hillside within the enclosure. We grabbed cameras and binoculars for a closer look. Despite the animal’s massive size and girth, he was barely visible among the big bluestem and Indian grass, some stalks reaching six to eight feet. We were captivated as he munched his way along the hillside.
Rachel Ruden gives our group a closer look at a lined snake encountered along the trail. Photo by Eddie Mercado.
As we walked, Tom Moon shared some of the images he had taken with his camera. He talked about other trips he’d made to the refuge and recalled fondly other encounters he’d had with wildlife. Rachel Ruden stopped to gently pick up a lined snake crossing the path in front of our group. She held it out for us to see and photograph and talked about other snake species she had seen in the refuge before releasing it back into the tall grass.
Eventually, we asked her about the rare white bison calf that was born within the refuge in April 2026. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service described such a birth as a “one-in-a-million” occurrence. Tragically, the calf died in June. The calf was the first white bison ever recorded at Neal Smith. Its birth attracted significant public attention and held cultural and spiritual importance for many Native American tribes that view white bison as sacred symbols of hope and renewal.
Preliminary results from a postmortem assessment released by the USFWS showed that the calf had multiple skin lesions and internal stomach lesions. The infections that caused these lesions may have prevented normal digestive function and may have led to sepsis. Officials stated that these findings were consistent with an animal born with a weakened immune system. In explaining its approach to wildlife management, the refuge said natural events, including births, illnesses, and deaths, are generally allowed to occur with as little human interference as possible.
The death of a white bison does not necessarily diminish the significance of its birth. In 2024, after a white calf born in Yellowstone National Park disappeared and was feared dead, Chief Arvol Looking Horse, a spiritual leader of the Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota peoples, emphasized its continuing importance. “The thing is, we all know that it was born and it’s like a miracle to us,” he told the Associated Press in an article published by The Durango Herald. He had described the calf’s birth as both a blessing and a warning that people must do more to protect the Earth and its animals.
Dirt flies as a bull elk tears into the ground at Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge. Photo by Tom Moon.
As we ended our walk, we stood in front of the closed visitor center and reflected upon the beauty that surrounded us. We were reminded that the future of places like this depends in part on the choices we make about public funding and conservation. We can advocate for the staff and resources needed to care for these landscapes, support the organizations that help sustain them, and make their protection a priority for generations to come. The decisions are not always simple, but we have a voice in them—and a responsibility to use it.
In the preface to his 2019 book From My Century to Yours, Neal Edward Smith stated, “Nature can no longer bring itself back into balance because the destruction of entire species is too great. We destroy much faster than nature can re-create.” He passed away on November 2, 2021, at the age of 101. I wonder what he would think of the challenges currently facing the refuge that bears his name. Perhaps the answer lies in the final sentence of his memoir: “But my hope is that, if nothing else, generations of the future will use the knowledge of the history of my century to make choices for the greater good of people alive in theirs.”
Eddie Mercado is an Iowa teacher with certifications in K-12 Art, 5-12 Biology, and K-12 TAG. He received a BS in Biology, a BFA in Photography, and a MS in STEM Education, all from the University of Iowa. Go Hawks! He is the co-founder of Iowa Natives.
Works Cited
“About Us.” Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, www.fws.gov/refuge/neal-smith/about-us.
Brown, Matthew, et al. “Birth of Rare White Buffalo Fulfills a Lakota Prophecy That Portends Better Times.” The Durango Herald, Associated Press, 24 June 2024, www.durangoherald.com/articles/news/birth-of-rare-white-buffalo-fulfills-a-lakota-prophecy-that-portends-better-times/.
Curran, Maura. “Neal Smith Wildlife Refuge Unveils Plan to Reopen Visitor Center Damaged by a Storm in 2024.” Iowa Public Radio, 18 Mar. 2026, www.iowapublicradio.org/ipr-news/2026-03-18/neal-smith-national-wildlife-refuge-visitor-center.
Friends of Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge. www.tallgrass.org/.
“INHF Helping Expand Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge.” Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, 27 Dec. 2016, www.inhf.org/about-us/blog/2016/12/27/inhf-helping-expand-neal-smith-national-wildlife-refuge.
“Life Cycle.” Monarch Joint Venture, monarchjointventure.org/monarch-biology/life-cycle.
“Meet the Board.” Friends of Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge, www.tallgrass.org/board.
“Migration.” Monarch Joint Venture, monarchjointventure.org/monarch-biology/monarch-migration.
“Monarch Watch Tagging Program.” Monarch Watch, University of Kansas, monarchwatch.org/tagging/.
Nardi, Eric P. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: FY2027 Budget Request. Congressional Research Service, 15 Apr. 2026. IF13203. Congress.gov, www.congress.gov/crs-product/IF13203.
“Neal Edward Smith.” Hamilton’s Funeral Home, www.hamiltonsfuneralhome.com/obituaries/61017.
“Prairie Restoration—Habitat Headquarters.” Natural Resources, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, naturalresources.extension.iastate.edu/encyclopedia/prairie-restoration-habitat-headquarters.
Ruden, Rachel. Personal interview. 12 Sept. 2026.
Smith, Neal Edward. From My Century to Yours: Wisdom from the Near 100-Year Life of Former Congressman Neal Edward Smith. Business Publications Corporation, 2019.
“Species.” Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, www.fws.gov/refuge/neal-smith/species.
“Trails.” Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, www.fws.gov/refuge/neal-smith/visit-us/trails.
“What We Do.” Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, www.fws.gov/refuge/neal-smith/what-we-do.
“White Bison Calf Born at Neal Smith.” U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, www.fws.gov/page/white-bison-calf-born-neal-smith. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.