Backyard Wildlife
Landscaping for Backyard Wildlife
Missouri's great patchwork of prairies, streams, forest, glades, savannas and wetlands provide habitat for thousands of native plants and animals. Since European settlement, however, larger and larger pieces of this patchwork have been altered to provide habitat for just one animal: people. With the conversion of natural Missouri to towns, subdivisions, roads and other development, wildlife have much less habitat.
According to the 2000 census, there were 1,679,585 single-family homes in Missouri. If each of these homes had a 1/4-acre-sized yard, the total acreage of Missouri yards would be 419,896 acres! Imagine if this space currently dominated largely by lawns that provide very little habitat was landscaped with wildlife in mind? Our yards could become healthier places for wildlife, and more interesting spaces for us.
By providing sources of food, water and cover, you can turn your yard into a lively place full of songbirds, toads and frogs, butterflies and other wildlife. The documents on this page provide information on wildlife-friendly landscape design to help you reconstruct your own "patchwork" of natural Missouri!
