Hanson Prairie Preserve

Discover Hanson Prairie Preserve in Winterset

This 30 acre tall-grass prairie is a “labor-of-love” product of Dick and Lou Hanson who began converting a creek bottom farm field to a warm season tall-grass prairie environment in the mid 1980’s. The Hanson’s, who still reside adjacent to the preserve, donated their prairie to the Madison County Foundation for Environmental Education (MCFEE). In the summer of 2000, the Madison County Conservation Board entered into a management agreement with MCFEE and oversees and manages the area as a prairie preserve and will continue to incorporate a diversity of wildflower species.The prairie is divided into two segments as Cedar Creek meanders through the middle of the prairie preserve. The public is encouraged to come and explore the “tall-grass prairie” ecosystem that once covered over 90 percent of the State of Iowa. Hunting is not allowed.