Tall green milkweed (Asclepias hirtella) and blazingstar (Liatris pycnostachya) are among the more than 253 plant species documented at Pleasant Run Creek Prairie. Photo: Bruce Schuette
Pleasant Run Creek Prairie
About Pleasant Run Creek Prairie
MPF purchased this property in 2014 with funding from The Conservation Fund and the late Ed Schmidt. Pleasant Run Creek is a 180-acre tract located across the road from MPF’s Denison Prairie and 40 acres east of MPF’s Lattner Prairie. Together, the three properties form a 620-acre complex that is part of the Liberal Prairie Conservation Opportunity Area.
The property has 84 acres of original, dry-mesic sandstone prairie and prairie swale communities. A wooded corridor, currently under restoration, bisects the prairie and includes a drainage that contributes to nearby Pleasant Run creek, for which the property is named. The rest of the property, was, at the time of acquisition, degraded prairie and former farmland that MPF has since restored and reconstructed to prairie habitat with seeds from the remnant. MPF also renovated a farm pond on the property to an ephemeral wetland to benefit amphibians, reptiles, and migrating shorebirds. Contributions from the Robert J. Trulaske, Jr. Family Foundation and MPF members funded this restoration work.
Pleasant Run Creek Prairie supports 253 native plant species with an average CC value of 4.20, and 33 conservative species. Regal fritillary butterflies are known from the site,
and grassland birds including northern bobwhite, scissor-tailed flycatcher, and Henslow’s sparrows nest here.
2020 Missouri River Bird Observatory Breeding Bird Surveys on MPF Properties
Pleasant Run Creek Prairie Floristic Integrity Report
2019 Missouri River Bird Observatory Breeding Bird Surveys on MPF Properties (includes Pleasant Run Creek Prairie)
Bryophyte list from 2018 Prairie BioBlitz at Pleasant Run Creek Prairie
Bee survey of Pleasant Run Creek, conducted in 2015
Video: Spring Blooms at Pleasant Run Creek Prairie–MPF Director of Prairie Management Jerod Huebner identifies prairie plants in bloom in this short video.
Directions
Pleasant Run Creek Prairie is in Vernon County on Zodiac Road, about 3 miles west of Sheldon. From I-49, take exit 88 and turn south onto the outer road on the west side of the highway. Drive 1 mile south until the road turns west and becomes Zodiac Road, then continue west for 2.2 miles. The prairie is on the north side of the road. Park on the side of the gravel road near the west uphill gate. By GPS N37 38.894 W94 20.765 (in decimal degrees, 37.648242 -094.346086).
