Midwest Nature Quote of the Week

Although evidence establishing the importance of the Loess Hills as a migrational corridor is still being collected, there is no doubt whatsoever that the Hills stretch out along one of North America’s major flyways for migrating waterfowl. Migrations along the Missouri River, directly adjacent to the Hills, must have been a sight beyond belief before the river’s wetlands and the waterfowl breeding grounds farther north were converted to agricultural land and dramatically reduced in size. But migration along that flyway still is spectacular and can best be appreciated where birds congregate to feed and rest: at Squaw Creek and DeSoto national wildlife refuges, and at Forney Lake and Riverton state wildlife areas in southwestern Iowa. 

Cornelia F. Mutel, Fragile Giants: A Natural History of the Loess Hills