Eagle Centre Prairie State Natural Area

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Eagle Centre Prairie features a remnant prairie and bur oak opening situated on broken, gravelly interlobate moraine. Scattered, large, open-grown bur oaks with white and black oak are interspersed with prairie-like openings. A moderate number of native prairie and savanna species have persisted, and those that are especially resistant to grazing can still be found in abundance including pasqueflower, prairie smoke, and the state-threatened kitten's-tails (Besseya bullii). Other species include purple love grass, prairie dropseed, side-oats grama, death camas, purple prairie clover, bird's-foot violet, whorled milkweed, shooting star, showy goldenrod, silky aster, and thimbleweed. Dense thickets of shrubs and saplings occur under large oaks, especially in more mesic draws and kettles. Management practices such as brushing, prescribed burning, and interseeding of native species will help restore and maintain the vigor of the prairie and oak opening. Eagle Centre Prairie is owned by the Waukesha Land Conservancy and was designated a State Natural Area in 2002.