Southwest Area Sites

Thomas Wet Prairie

Castle Rock Township. Purchased in 1988. This is the first remnant prairie purchased by The Prairie Enthusiasts. A 13.5 acre wetland prairie with extensive sedges and other wetland plants. It abuts the Fennimore Branch of the Blue River (Castle Rock Creek). Site page

Bush Clover Prairie

Mt. Ida. Purchased in 1989. 3 acre dry-mesic prairie with many species including Compass-Plant, Rough Blazing-star and  Downy Phlox. 

Eldred Prairie

Near Lancaster. Purchased in 2001. 45 acres located on a low ridge with a dry-mesic quality and somewhat sandy soil. About 2/3 of the site faces south and the remaining 1/3 north. The site has over 55 species including such rarities as cream gentian, wild quinine and tall nut rush. Site page

Sime Balds

Near Boscobel. Easement granted in 2004. 35 acres of goat prairie and oak woodland. It includes 3 balds- steep, rocky bluff prairies on sandstone and some limestone. More than 80 native plant species featuring Upland Boneset, Great Plains Lady’s Tresses, Butterfly Milkweed, Prairie Indian Plantain, Prairie Dropseed and large areas of oak barrens and bur and white oak savanna. It also hosts a variety of native snakes.

Borah Creek Prairie

Near Fennimore. In 2009 The Prairie Enthusiasts, Mississippi Valley Conservancy and Driftless Area Land Conservancy with funding from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service procured this site. Designated a WI State Natural Area in 2009. 140 acres of dry prairie with WI’s third largest population of Prairie Bush-Clover. Surveys of this property have recorded over 500 different plants including Woolly Milkweed, Prairie Indian-Plantain, Hill’s Thistle, Wild Quinine, and Prairie Turnip. Grassland birds using the area include upland sandpiper, eastern kingbird, brown thrasher, dickcissel, eastern meadowlark, grasshopper sparrow, and bell’s vireo.  Site page

Double Oaks Savanna

Near Millville. Gifted to TPE by Alice and Walter Mirk in 2012. 23 acres of remnant and restored prairie, oak savanna and oak woodland. The rugged terrain is home to a number of rare species including Purple Milkweed, Prairie Indian Plantain, Jeweled Shooting Star, Pickerel Frog and Prairie Ring-Necked Snake. Site page

Feist Prairie

Near Lancaster. Purchased in 2013. 3 acres of remnant. Though small, it contains a large number of species on land never cultivated, pastured, or sprayed. Site page

Sylvan Road Conservation Area

Near Dodgeville. Purchased in 2014. Ninety nine acres of oak woods, wet prairie, and riparian scrub/young forest. The wet prairie consists of wet mesic prairie, wet prairie, and sedge meadow. This area is the gem of this parcel and contains a number of species rarely found in Wisconsin, including Rattlesnake master, Yellow-headed fox sedge, and Prairie gray sedge. Prairie Indian plantain, a threatened species, is also found in this community. Site page