Many grassland birds, such as Bell’s vireo, use MPF’s Welsch Prairie, which contains a savanna undergoing restoration and a prairie planting. Photo: Bruce Schuette
Welsch Tract
About Welsch Tract
MPF purchased the 80-acre Welsch Tract in 2010 thanks to a generous gift from Dr. Clifford Welsch. This property is near Lockwood and lies immediately west of and helps buffer MPF’s Coyne Prairie and a portion of a prairie headwater stream corridor.
Since 2010, MPF has performed intensive restoration of the tract, which contained a historic but degraded 16-acre savanna, 17 acres of impenetrable brush and invasive exotic plants, and a 47-acre crop field. The savanna has been thinned, revealing its original canopy structure. In early 2013, 15 mixes of locally harvested prairie plant seed were seeded to the former crop field. Brush, honeysuckle, and other invasives have been tackled. Additional work is needed to complete restoration, including seeding herbaceous plants in the savanna. Numerous birds use this property, including wild turkey, especially in the savanna portion of the site.
2018 Missouri River Bird Observatory Breeding Bird Surveys on MPF Properties (includes Welsch Tract)
2020 Missouri River Bird Observatory Breeding Bird Surveys on MPF Properties
Directions
Welsch Tract is in Dade County on CR 41, about 15 miles east of Lamar. Drive 3 miles west of Highway 97 on Highway E, then south on CR 41 for 1 mile. Parking is available on the rough gravel lot on the east side of CR 41. The savanna and prairie reconstruction are immediately northeast of this area. By GPS, N37 30.234 W94 0.274 (in decimal degrees, 37.503900, -94.004567).
