![Map of the Grand Prairie Ecoregion, eastern Arkansas, showing historical distribution of approximately 500,000-acres of prairie.](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/58f8362b15d5dbde5a0c3003/1512281233040-60VAKNEIY3BL2I907JPY/Screen+Shot+2017-11-15+at+1.07.27+AM.png)
Map of the Grand Prairie Ecoregion, eastern Arkansas, showing historical distribution of approximately 500,000-acres of prairie.
Credit: Sunny Fleming
Data Source: USGS Gap Analysis Program (GAP), Esri
![Newspaper article from 1904 advertising "10,000 acres of virgin prairie for sale, Prairie Co., Arkansas"](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/58f8362b15d5dbde5a0c3003/1512280181372-NIKHBBFDW5D278ZBWMZO/AR+Prairie.jpg)
Newspaper article from 1904 advertising "10,000 acres of virgin prairie for sale, Prairie Co., Arkansas"
![Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja coccinea), Mississippi Alluvial Plain Hardpan Prairie, Grand Prairie, Arkansas](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/58f8362b15d5dbde5a0c3003/1494649365960-42SW7SSRAEQIW25CVTEO/Picture2.png)
Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja coccinea), Mississippi Alluvial Plain Hardpan Prairie, Grand Prairie, Arkansas
Credit: Theo Witsell
![Rudbeckia grandiflora (Rudbeckia grandiflora) and Prairie Blazing Star (Liatris pycnostachya), Mississippi Alluvial Plain Hardpan Prairie, Grand Prairie, Arkansas](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/58f8362b15d5dbde5a0c3003/1494649383056-FXD7LDHHZR8I9IA7WT5N/Picture3.png)
Rudbeckia grandiflora (Rudbeckia grandiflora) and Prairie Blazing Star (Liatris pycnostachya), Mississippi Alluvial Plain Hardpan Prairie, Grand Prairie, Arkansas
Credit: Theo Witsell
Oklahoma Grass Pink Orchid (Calopogon oklahomensis), Mississippi Alluvial Plain Hardpan Prairie, Grand Prairie, Arkansas
Credit: Theo Witsell
![Mississippi Alluvial Plain Hardpan Prairie, Railroad Prairie Natural Area, Grand Prairie, Prairie Co., Arkansas](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/58f8362b15d5dbde5a0c3003/1512280297505-E8JP732RNN0WAK78ND8H/Screen+Shot+2017-11-15+at+2.26.57+AM.png)
Mississippi Alluvial Plain Hardpan Prairie, Railroad Prairie Natural Area, Grand Prairie, Prairie Co., Arkansas
Credit: Pamela Pasco
![Mississippi Alluvial Plain Hardpan Prairie, Railroad Prairie Natural Area, Grand Prairie, Prairie Co., Arkansas](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/58f8362b15d5dbde5a0c3003/1501201997690-NYY9RFEL0GH9TT9GPIQ0/Screen+Shot+2017-07-27+at+7.31.43+PM.png)
Mississippi Alluvial Plain Hardpan Prairie, Railroad Prairie Natural Area, Grand Prairie, Prairie Co., Arkansas
Credit: Pamela Pasco
![Theo Witsell (SGI Director of Research) surveying Mississippi Alluvial Plain Hardpan Prairie, Railroad Prairie Natural Area, Grand Prairie, Prairie Co., Arkansas](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/58f8362b15d5dbde5a0c3003/1512286267604-VXEZ5HNCY1DC0TFYZV9G/Railroad+Prairie+Theo.jpg)
Theo Witsell (SGI Director of Research) surveying Mississippi Alluvial Plain Hardpan Prairie, Railroad Prairie Natural Area, Grand Prairie, Prairie Co., Arkansas
Credit: Pamela Pasco
![Mississippi Alluvial Plain Hardpan Prairie, Roth Prairie Natural Area, Grand Prairie, Arkansas](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/58f8362b15d5dbde5a0c3003/1512286307017-5OFW4P5F754ST75NDSMU/Roth+Prairie.jpg)
Mississippi Alluvial Plain Hardpan Prairie, Roth Prairie Natural Area, Grand Prairie, Arkansas
Credit: Pamela Pasco
![Ornate Box Turtle in Mississippi Alluvial Plain Hardpan Prairie, Roth Prairie Natural Area, Grand Prairie, Arkansas](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/58f8362b15d5dbde5a0c3003/1512286259762-YI9OR3AYFAC01H50DSFH/Ornate+Box+Turtle+3_Witsell.jpg)
Ornate Box Turtle in Mississippi Alluvial Plain Hardpan Prairie, Roth Prairie Natural Area, Grand Prairie, Arkansas
Credit: Theo Witsell
![Mississippi Alluvial Plain Hardpan Prairie, Roth Prairie Natural Area, Grand Prairie, Arkansas](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/58f8362b15d5dbde5a0c3003/1501203573127-HRHL17EQH90ARIP0BOHQ/Screen+Shot+2017-07-27+at+7.30.01+PM.png)
Mississippi Alluvial Plain Hardpan Prairie, Roth Prairie Natural Area, Grand Prairie, Arkansas
Credit: Pamela Pasco
![Mississippi Alluvial Plain Sand Barren, Charleston Baptist Church, Scott Co., Missouri](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/58f8362b15d5dbde5a0c3003/1544838395475-S7ZU1NFHGBXZY48RCDG1/Baptist+Camp+Sand+Prairie+2009.jpg)
Mississippi Alluvial Plain Sand Barren, Charleston Baptist Church, Scott Co., Missouri
Credit: Justin Thomas (NatureCITE)
![Mississippi Alluvial Plain Sand Savanna, Sikeston, Missouri](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/58f8362b15d5dbde5a0c3003/1512280248472-3LXB07S1E9R0CEGPR04J/Pg288SandP.jpg)
Mississippi Alluvial Plain Sand Savanna, Sikeston, Missouri
Credit: Paul Nelson
![Mississippi Alluvial Plain Riverbank Sandbar Barren, Mississippi River, Lake Co., Tennessee](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/58f8362b15d5dbde5a0c3003/1512280204395-O6F7N6OU4T5WKJYOZLV5/Mississippi+River+Grassland.jpg)
Mississippi Alluvial Plain Riverbank Sandbar Barren, Mississippi River, Lake Co., Tennessee
Credit: Dwayne Estes
Mississippi Alluvial Plain Riverbank Sandbar Barren, Arkansas River, Arkansas
Credit: Theo Witsell
![lower Arkansas sandbars 3.jpg](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/58f8362b15d5dbde5a0c3003/1512286254651-XQ8RNVQD8I48Q0L72H1U/lower+Arkansas+sandbars+3.jpg)
![431468_200029263437590_818413664_n.jpg](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/58f8362b15d5dbde5a0c3003/1545463654742-A7EHZ2T1CQJGVDTFPIR6/431468_200029263437590_818413664_n.jpg)
![424669_200029233437593_1905866710_n.jpg](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/58f8362b15d5dbde5a0c3003/1545463661223-LAOTC9CY57RGI5MSSSCM/424669_200029233437593_1905866710_n.jpg)
![Map of the Grand Prairie Ecoregion, eastern Arkansas, showing historical distribution of approximately 500,000-acres of prairie.](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/58f8362b15d5dbde5a0c3003/1512281233040-60VAKNEIY3BL2I907JPY/Screen+Shot+2017-11-15+at+1.07.27+AM.png)
![Newspaper article from 1904 advertising "10,000 acres of virgin prairie for sale, Prairie Co., Arkansas"](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/58f8362b15d5dbde5a0c3003/1512280181372-NIKHBBFDW5D278ZBWMZO/AR+Prairie.jpg)
![Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja coccinea), Mississippi Alluvial Plain Hardpan Prairie, Grand Prairie, Arkansas](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/58f8362b15d5dbde5a0c3003/1494649365960-42SW7SSRAEQIW25CVTEO/Picture2.png)
![Rudbeckia grandiflora (Rudbeckia grandiflora) and Prairie Blazing Star (Liatris pycnostachya), Mississippi Alluvial Plain Hardpan Prairie, Grand Prairie, Arkansas](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/58f8362b15d5dbde5a0c3003/1494649383056-FXD7LDHHZR8I9IA7WT5N/Picture3.png)
![Mississippi Alluvial Plain Hardpan Prairie, Railroad Prairie Natural Area, Grand Prairie, Prairie Co., Arkansas](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/58f8362b15d5dbde5a0c3003/1512280297505-E8JP732RNN0WAK78ND8H/Screen+Shot+2017-11-15+at+2.26.57+AM.png)
![Mississippi Alluvial Plain Hardpan Prairie, Railroad Prairie Natural Area, Grand Prairie, Prairie Co., Arkansas](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/58f8362b15d5dbde5a0c3003/1501201997690-NYY9RFEL0GH9TT9GPIQ0/Screen+Shot+2017-07-27+at+7.31.43+PM.png)
![Theo Witsell (SGI Director of Research) surveying Mississippi Alluvial Plain Hardpan Prairie, Railroad Prairie Natural Area, Grand Prairie, Prairie Co., Arkansas](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/58f8362b15d5dbde5a0c3003/1512286267604-VXEZ5HNCY1DC0TFYZV9G/Railroad+Prairie+Theo.jpg)
![Mississippi Alluvial Plain Hardpan Prairie, Roth Prairie Natural Area, Grand Prairie, Arkansas](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/58f8362b15d5dbde5a0c3003/1512286307017-5OFW4P5F754ST75NDSMU/Roth+Prairie.jpg)
![Ornate Box Turtle in Mississippi Alluvial Plain Hardpan Prairie, Roth Prairie Natural Area, Grand Prairie, Arkansas](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/58f8362b15d5dbde5a0c3003/1512286259762-YI9OR3AYFAC01H50DSFH/Ornate+Box+Turtle+3_Witsell.jpg)
![Mississippi Alluvial Plain Hardpan Prairie, Roth Prairie Natural Area, Grand Prairie, Arkansas](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/58f8362b15d5dbde5a0c3003/1501203573127-HRHL17EQH90ARIP0BOHQ/Screen+Shot+2017-07-27+at+7.30.01+PM.png)
![Mississippi Alluvial Plain Sand Barren, Charleston Baptist Church, Scott Co., Missouri](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/58f8362b15d5dbde5a0c3003/1544838395475-S7ZU1NFHGBXZY48RCDG1/Baptist+Camp+Sand+Prairie+2009.jpg)
![Mississippi Alluvial Plain Sand Savanna, Sikeston, Missouri](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/58f8362b15d5dbde5a0c3003/1512280248472-3LXB07S1E9R0CEGPR04J/Pg288SandP.jpg)
![Mississippi Alluvial Plain Riverbank Sandbar Barren, Mississippi River, Lake Co., Tennessee](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/58f8362b15d5dbde5a0c3003/1512280204395-O6F7N6OU4T5WKJYOZLV5/Mississippi+River+Grassland.jpg)
![lower Arkansas sandbars 3.jpg](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/58f8362b15d5dbde5a0c3003/1512286254651-XQ8RNVQD8I48Q0L72H1U/lower+Arkansas+sandbars+3.jpg)
![431468_200029263437590_818413664_n.jpg](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/58f8362b15d5dbde5a0c3003/1545463654742-A7EHZ2T1CQJGVDTFPIR6/431468_200029263437590_818413664_n.jpg)
![424669_200029233437593_1905866710_n.jpg](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/58f8362b15d5dbde5a0c3003/1545463661223-LAOTC9CY57RGI5MSSSCM/424669_200029233437593_1905866710_n.jpg)