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This article was released in October 2011
The Prairie Pothole region covers five states, three Canadian provinces and 300,000 square miles. This region is one of the most agriculturally productive areas in the world. It is also characterized by one of the world's most biologically rich wetland systems.
Glacially formed prairie potholes and their surrounding grasslands support an incredible diversity of birds and other wildlife. The region is especially known for producing 50 to 80 percent of the North American continental duck population each year. Iowa is the southern arm of these prairie potholes and a gateway for waterfowl migrating north and south across North America.
Prairie pothole wetlands and their restoration in critical watersheds also helps improve water quality and alleviate flooding.
This landscape is located in predominantly rural Iowa, where community is tied to farming and outdoor recreation activities, such as hunting and fishing.
The Southern Prairie Potholes
The Southern Prairie Pothole region is recognized as a critical habitat area by the Iowa Wildlife Action Plan and federal Prairie Pothole Joint Venture efforts that seek to restore rapidly declining waterfowl populations. This region has also been selected as an area for special attention in the America's Great Outdoors initiative announced in October 2011. It represents an important mid-latitude spring stop-over on the Mississippi Flyway, and as such provides critical resting and feeding grounds for numerous migrating species.
Wetlands and streams in this region harbor more than 91 species of breeding birds, and provide critical habitat for endangered species such as the Blanding’s turtle and the Topeka shiner.
Protecting and restoring wetlands and riparian areas here are of particular importance for the Raccoon River, an impaired water targeted in the Upper Mississippi River Basin Initiative.
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