The Morton Family Prairie was donated by Dr. Wayne Morton, a past MPF president and lifelong conservationist. Rosinweed (Silphium integrifolium) by Bruce Schuette.

Morton Family Prairie

About Morton Family Prairie

This prairie was generously donated to MPF in 2023 by Dr. Wayne Morton, a lifelong leader in natural community conservation and former president of the Missouri Prairie Foundation (MPF). The Morton Family Prairie is a 380-acre tract  in Benton County, to the southeast of MPF’s Friendly Prairie, Drover’s Prairie, and Lordi Marker Prairie, and is one mile northwest of Cole Camp. This property lies within the Cole Camp Conservation Opportunity Area and Cole Camp Important Bird Area, and is adjacent to the Missouri Department of Conservation’s (MDC’s) Hi Lonesome Prairie Conservation Area. The Rock Island Trail, a rail to trail biking route can be accessed 0.5 miles to the north on CR 201.

Morton Family Prairie is a dry-mesic chert prairie, and includes 178 acres of unplowed, remnant tallgrass prairie. There is a small pond in one of the prairie swales. 

Surveys at site acquisition revealed Morton Family Prairie supporting at least 79 native plant species with an average native CC value of 4.84, and 15 species with a CC value of 7 and higher. Thus far, this prairie has been found to support three species of conservation concern: Mead’s milkweed (Asclepias meadii), the regal fritillary butterfly (Speyeria idalia), the prairie mole cricket (Gryllotalpa major). Future studies will provide additional information about the biological diversity of this prairie.

Morton Family Prairie is open to the public for hiking and nature viewing.

 

2024 Breeding Bird Surveys of MPF Prairies by the Missouri River Bird Observatory 

Directions

The Morton Family Prairie is located in Benton County on CR 950 about 1.0 mile northwest of Cole Camp and 1.0 mile north of Highway 52. From Cole Camp, head west on Highway 52 for one mile before heading north (right) on CR 221. Continue north until you reach CR 950, then head west (left). Morton Family Prairie is on the south side of CR 950, and parking is available on a pull-off just west of CR 201. By GPS, 38° 28′ 59.502″N  93° 14′ 21.5016″W (in decimal degrees, 38.483195, -93.239306).

 

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