Much of Colorado’s Eastern Plains is private land, so only a handful of prairie sites are accessible to the public. The Pawnee National Grassland offers access—by car, horseback or on foot—to a large area of shortgrass prairie.
Description: The Pawnee National Grassland is a remnant of the plains grassland that once covered eastern Colorado. Federal lands are intermingled with private ownership, and some blocks are grazed and cultivated. A USFS map of the grasslands, available at USFS offices in Colorado, is recommended to help distinguish between public and private lands. Dramatic high points are the Pawnee Buttes, a pair of sandstone formations towering 250 feet above the surrounding prairie. The grassland is divided into two parcels. The buttes are in the eastern parcel.
Viewing information: Such raptors as kestrels, prairie falcons, golden eagles, and Swainson’s and ferruginous hawks nest on surrounding escarpments in isolated trees, and on the steep sides of the buttes. Do not climb on the buttes or escarpments during sensitive nesting periods from early spring through mid-summer. Watch for pronghorn, mule deer, coyotes, prairie dogs, jackrabbits, and kangaroo rats (at night). Grassland reptiles include short-horned lizards, bullsnakes, fence lizards, and western rattlesnakes. Excellent mammal fossils dating from the Miocene and Oligocene periods have been found at the buttes. Fossils and cultural artifacts are protected by federal law.
Ownership: Private, USDA Forest Service (970/353-5004)
Size: 693,060 acres
Closest town: New Raymer, 20 miles, restaurant in town
Other prairie sites in the Colorado Wildlife Viewing Guide: Simla Pronghorn Loop—site 12; Hugo State Wildlife Area—site 13; Apishapa State Wildlife Area—site 22.
The Colorado Wildlife Viewing Guide is available at many retail outlets or for $12.95 plus $2 shipping and handling from the Colorado Wildlife Heritage Foundation, 6060 Broadway, Denver, CO 80216. Call 303/291-7212 for information.
End of this issue.
(The information contained in this issue of Colorado's Wildlife Company was accurate at the time of original publication. Situations and circumstances described, staff positions, contact information, and dates of some events may have changed in the interim. Present knowledge and understanding of biological and behavioral facts and information may also be different, now, than presented here.)