USFWS · Minnesota, Iowa

Northern Tallgrass Prairie National Wildlife Refuge

The Northern Tallgrass Prairie National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge located in Iowa and Minnesota in the United States. The United States Government established it to provide a means of working with individuals, groups, private organizations, and entities of the U.S. Government, Government of Iowa, and Government of Minnesota to permanently preserve a portion of the remnant tracts of northern tallgrass prairie in Iowa and Minnesota. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is acquiring remnant prairie tracts for the refuge from willing private landowners through both conservation easements and fee title purchases.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

National Wildlife Refuge17,231 acresUSFWSMNIA
Official page at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ↗

Facts

Where each comes from ↓
DesignationNational Wildlife Refuge
Managed byU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
StatesMinnesota, Iowa
Size17,231 acres
FWS regionRegion 3
Center point44.46° N, 96.10° W
Night skyAbout as dark as the ground gets (Black Marble reading 18)

Boundary map

129 outlines

Boundary, simplified to about 0.005 degrees

The outline is the agency boundary simplified for display, so small parcels and inholdings may not show. The agency page has the authoritative map.

Weather by month

NOAA climate normals →
Weather by month near Northern Tallgrass Prairie National Wildlife Refuge10°20°30°40°50°60°70°80°January: 0.86 inches of precipitation, 6.6 inches of snowFebruary: 0.87 inches of precipitation, 8.1 inches of snowMarch: 1.60 inches of precipitation, 7.6 inches of snowApril: 2.79 inches of precipitation, 4.9 inches of snowMay: 3.66 inches of precipitation, 0.1 inches of snowJune: 4.10 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowJuly: 3.78 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowAugust: 3.61 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowSeptember: 3.06 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowOctober: 2.29 inches of precipitation, 0.8 inches of snowNovember: 1.26 inches of precipitation, 5.3 inches of snowDecember: 1.02 inches of precipitation, 10.1 inches of snowJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanuary: 14.0°F averageFebruary: 18.3°F averageMarch: 30.3°F averageApril: 44.5°F averageMay: 58.1°F averageJune: 68.9°F averageJuly: 72.9°F averageAugust: 70.4°F averageSeptember: 62.4°F averageOctober: 48.1°F averageNovember: 32.9°F averageDecember: 19.9°F average0 in5 in10 in15 inTemp °FInches
The line is the average temperature and the bars are average precipitation at Marshall, 15 miles from the center point at 1,149 feet, station USC00215204 in the NOAA monthly climate normals for 1991 to 2020. Precipitation totals about 29 inches a year. The dotted line is average snowfall, about 44 inches a year on the same inches scale.

Large units span more than one climate. The station stands in for the center point, and the outer parts of the boundary can be warmer or colder.

Explore

Nearby on the other atlases

National Park System units within 30 miles · Park Atlas
National Monument · Adjacent
Pipestone National Monument
National Register listings within 15 miles · 335 in all · Register Atlas

Landmarks are listed first, then by distance from the boundary.

Guidebooks for Minnesota

We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.

Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject heading or by title.

Reference

Questions people ask

How big is Northern Tallgrass Prairie National Wildlife Refuge?

17,231 acres.

Source: How acreage is computed

Who manages Northern Tallgrass Prairie National Wildlife Refuge?

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

What state is Northern Tallgrass Prairie National Wildlife Refuge in?

The boundary crosses Minnesota and Iowa.

Source: How states are assigned

How do I get to Northern Tallgrass Prairie National Wildlife Refuge?

A point inside the boundary is at 44.455° N, 96.100° W. Pipestone National Monument is adjacent. The official page carries directions and the office address.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Which national parks are near Northern Tallgrass Prairie National Wildlife Refuge?

Pipestone National Monument (adjacent). Park Atlas has fees, hours and alerts for each.

Source: Nearby on the other atlases

Are there historic places near Northern Tallgrass Prairie National Wildlife Refuge?

The National Register has 335 listings within 15 miles, including Volstead, Andrew John, House and Pipestone Indian School Superintendent's House.

Source: Register Atlas

Sources

  • Boundary, name: the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service refuge boundary layer.
  • States and territories: computed by intersecting the boundary with Census state polygons and coarse outlines of the territories and outlying islands. A place is listed when it holds at least one percent of the area. A boundary that touches no outline is listed under the nearest one.
  • Acreage: geodesic area of the published polygon. The agency’s official acreage can differ where the boundary includes water, easements or inholdings.
  • Description: Northern Tallgrass Prairie National Wildlife Refuge on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. The article was accepted because its title contains this unit’s name.
  • Campgrounds: the Campsite Atlas index of federal campgrounds, matched to this boundary at build time.
  • Night sky: NASA Black Marble (VIIRS, 2016 composite) sampled at zoom 6 around the center point.
  • Weather, alerts, air quality, river flow and earthquakes load live in your browser from NWS, AirNow, USGS and iNaturalist when you open the page.