Vernon County is prairie country, with remnant tallgrass to protect

Most of Vernon County sits on the Osage Plains. This land is flatter than the Ozarks to the southeast, which are full of caves and rocky ground. Long ago, this area was tallgrass prairie. A prairie is open land covered in tall native grasses and wildflowers, with few trees. Today, very little of Missouri’s native prairie is left. That makes the pieces that remain, called remnants, important for nature. The Department of Conservation takes care of prairie and grassland areas here. It helps native plants, grassland birds, and pollinators like bees. These areas are managed differently from forests or crop fields. Workers sometimes use planned fires and cut hay on a set schedule. Grassland habitat is home to animals you will not find in the wooded Ozarks. Want to see real prairie? The Department of Conservation is the place to check for the prairie and grassland areas near Vernon County and their access rules, since not every open field is native prairie and not all of it is open to the public.