CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – UNI’s Tallgrass Prairie Center is included in the January 2024 issue of National Geographic. In the featured story “Flight of the Monarchs,” photographer Jaime Rojo and author Michelle Nijhuis illuminate the many people and organizations trying to help the monarch butterfly from Mexico to Minnesota.

“We were thrilled to see images of prairie strips on Dick Sloan's farm near Rowley, where we have held several field days,” said Laura Jackson, director of the Tallgrass Prairie Center. “The article aptly summarizes Tallgrass Prairie Center programs and how they work in concert to increase habitat in the upper Midwest.”

The feature also highlights the Irvine Prairie near Dysart, which is managed by Tallgrass Prairie Center. The area provides UNI students opportunities for hands-on research in prairie restoration and management and is on a path to become one of the most well-documented and diverse prairies in eastern Iowa.

Readers with a National Geographic subscription may read the article online. Printed copies may be available at your local library and may be ordered on the National Geographic website.