Prairie Research Site Gains Important Bird Area Designation

Doane College's Aldrich Prairie Research Site has been named an Important Bird Area (IBA) in Nebraska.

The Important Bird Area program is a global conservation and education effort of the National Audubon Society. The society works with landowners and managers of IBA sites to educate them on the importance of their land to certain bird species and provide management ideas for the benefit of birds and the habitats they depend on.

Nebraska is home to nearly 30 IBA sites, which provide essential habitat for one or more bird species. IBAs include sites that birds use during breeding season, on migration or as wintering grounds.

The Aldrich Prairie Research Site located near Grafton, Nebraska, consists of about 50 acres of protected wetlands and tallgrass prairie. Birds documented on site include the upland sandpiper, burrowing owl, red-headed woodpecker, swamp sparrow, dickcissel, bobolink and marsh wren. It's also home to the eastern-most colony of black-tailed prairie dogs in Nebraska.

The site is an outlet for student and faculty research and class field activities across many disciplines. To learn more about the prairie research site, go to:  www.doane.edu/aldrichprairie.