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    • Big Sand Mound Field Day **

Save the Date -- June 10, 2023

This is the next Field Day at Big Sand Mound Preserve south of Muscatine. The preserve will be open to the public, which only happens once every three years.

The Big Sand Mound Nature Preserve is located south of Muscatine, Iowa, along the Mississippi River. It is home to a unique, diverse ecosystem of plants and animals and has among the highest concentrations of endangered species in Iowa.

Formed nearly 20,000 years ago by ice sheets, some naturalists describe the preserve as looking more like the Southwest than the Midwest, because of its acres of sand prairies. The sand dunes, or mounds, are nearly 136 feet deep and are home to hundreds of plant species, including prickly pear cactuses rarely found in Iowa. Reptiles, including the endangered yellow mud turtle, eastern hognose snake and six-lined racerunner lizard inhabit the preserve.