Description
Why You Should Visit
Buffalo Slough is part of a larger 80-acre wetland slough that contains a large linear fen complex referred to as a slough or channel fen. A channel fen is a peat-filled wetland found in ancient river channels. Fens are special as a distinctive natural community and as habitat for rare plant and animal species. In Iowa, more than 200 species of plants are associated with fens and a single fen could contain as many as 75 plant species.
Conditions
Access is across private property. Permission from adjacent landowner must be obtained before visiting.
Why the Conservancy Selected This Site
Buffalo Slough was donated to the Conservancy in 1993 by Lucille Minott, whose late husband was deeply interested in nature and conservation.
What the Conservancy Has Done/Is Doing
The Conservancy is trying to protect the many rare and threatened species at Buffalo Slough from threats including invasive species such as purple loosestrife, reed canary grass and buckthorn, and from runoff from the golf course and residential areas that surround it.