front cover of A Country So Full of Game
A Country So Full of Game
The Story of Wildlife in Iowa
James J. Dinsmore
University of Iowa Press, 1994
Indian agent Joseph Street said it well in 1833 when he described his trip across Iowa: “I had never rode through a country so full of game.” In the early 1800s Iowa's deep soil, free-flowing rivers and streams, and favorable climate had combined to produce the welcoming habitats that supported a surprising variety of animals. In his engaging, intelligent book, James Dinsmore has created the first comprehensive history of this abounding wildlife from the arrival of Euro-American explorers to the present day.

Based on a thorough search of hundreds of primary sources ranging from chronicles of military expeditions to field reports by early naturalists, first-person accounts by fur traders and hunters to up-to-date county checklists, A Country So Full of Game examines the dramatic encounters of humans with elk, black bears, passenger pigeons, bobcats, prairie-chickens, otters, and many more. Each chapter discusses the animal's status and distribution when explorers first arrived in Iowa, how it was hunted or trapped, how this exploitation affected its population, and what its current status is both in Iowa and nationally. Enhanced by Mark Müller's distinctive drawings, commissioned for this book, the anecdotes evoke a sense of loss and wonder at the magic abundance of Iowa's wildlife.

Iowa has been changed more than, perhaps, any other state. We can mourn the disappearance of the bison and mountain lion while we marvel at the recent success of the wild turkey and white-tailed deer. Listening to James Dinsmore tell the story of wildlife in Iowa can open a window onto the future as other areas of our planet are increasingly altered by humans. A Country So Full of Game will allow all naturalists, both amateur and professional, hunter and biologist, to appreciate and learn from Iowa's diverse wild heritage.
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front cover of An Illustrated Guide to Iowa Prairie Plants
An Illustrated Guide to Iowa Prairie Plants
Paul Christiansen
University of Iowa Press, 1999

Iowa is the only state completely within the tallgrass prairie formation. Thanks to rich soil, adequate rainfall, and warm summer temperatures, hundreds of species combine to produce a diverse and colorful and ever-changing landscape. Using text and maps by Paul Christiansen and newly created drawings by Mark Müller, this first comprehensive guide to the prairie plants native to Iowa provides all the information necessary for identifying and distinguishing even the most similar species.

Species are described from the ground up: stem, leaf, bud, flower, fruit, and habitat. The time of flowering and fruiting is given for the central part of Iowa. Where several species are closely related, a common member of the group is fully described, and the other species are compared with the first. Each species is paired with a distribution map. The superbly detailed illustrations, all of which were drawn specifically for this handbook, capture the general shape of each plant as well as its characteristic features. A guide to family identification, information about extant and restored prairies in Iowa, and a glossary are also included.

Farmers who settled Iowa in the 1800s viewed the great green sea of grasses and wildflowers as a challenge to be replaced with cropfields and pastures. Today we realize that the prairie is an addictive, restorative, aesthetically satisfying place for study and recreation. An Illustrated Guide to Iowa Prairie Plants is designed to enable those who want to go beyond the most common plants to identify all native species and to learn more about their distribution, structure, and natural history.

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front cover of Prairie in Your Pocket
Prairie in Your Pocket
A Guide to Plants of the Tallgrass Prairie
Mark Muller
University of Iowa Press, 2000

front cover of Wetlands in Your Pocket
Wetlands in Your Pocket
A Guide to Common Plants and Animals of Midwestern Wetlands
Muller, Mark
University of Iowa Press, 2005

front cover of The Wild Midwest
The Wild Midwest
A Coloring Book
Mark Muller
University of Iowa Press, 2016
While most coloring books offer fanciful recreations of the wonders of nature, Mark Müller’s realistic drawings allow you to embellish real-world birds, plants, and animals with all the colors you can imagine. Layer your creative whimsy on his meticulous accuracy. Go ahead, ink in a hot pink bison or a turquoise sandhill crane or a buttery yellow tree frog, pouring magic into reality. Turn the tallgrass prairie’s pale purple coneflowers ruby red, the black swallowtail butterfly into a green-dotted swallowtail, or white-tailed deer into fuschia-tailed. Why shouldn’t red-winged blackbirds flaunt salmon epaulets, or American goldfinches turn coppery, or rose-breasted grosbeaks celadon-breasted? Amid the creatures teeming in the midwestern grasses and wetlands on these pages, you’ll even find the most common invasive species—see if you can find the garlic mustard and the emerald ash borer! Here is the wild Midwest as it really is, for your coloring pleasure.
 
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Woodland in Your Pocket
A Guide to Common Woodland Plants of the Midwest
Mark Muller
University of Iowa Press, 2002


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