Big Buffalo Creek Conservation Area is in east-central Benton and west-central Morgan counties. This 3,612-acre, mostly forested area contains a six-acre fishing pond, three springs and 3.0 miles of Big Buffalo Creek.
Big Buffalo Creek Conservation Area was acquired in 1964 with Sport Fish Restoration Funds for the purposes of fisheries research in the hatchery ponds and for smallmouth bass habitat research on Big Buffalo Creek. Stream-flow dynamics research is still on-going, but all original fisheries research projects have finished.
Big Buffalo Creek Conservation Area has one designated natural area, Big Buffalo Creek Fen Natural Area. The fen is a 40-acre portion of the conservation area with natural features that include a small, spring-fed fen, a spring branch and creek, dolomite glades, and forest. Sedges dominate the fen vegetation, and blue flag, marsh coneflower, Riddell’s goldenrod, willow, and the rare bushy aster are found here.
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