Established in 1989 in northeastern Iowa, Driftless Area National Wildlife Refuge protects the endangered Iowa Pleistocene snail and the threatened Northern Wild Monkshood within the unglaciated Driftless Area. Its key habitat is the algific talus slope, where cold air from underground fissures and sinkholes creates cool, moist conditions even in summer, sustaining rare species more typical of colder regions. Once known only from fossils, the tiny Iowa Pleistocene snail was rediscovered alive in 1955. The refuge now spans nine separate Iowa sites totaling 811.99 acres, where restoration and cooperative stewardship help protect these fragile cold-air ecosystems from development, runoff, invasive plants, and other disturbances.