Oklahoma is blessed to have the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, part of the Nature Conservancy.  It’s located northwest of Tulsa, and its southern border is just north of the town of Pawhuska, in Osage County.

“The Tallgrass Prairie Preserve is the largest protected remnant of tallgrass prairie left on earth. Originally spanning portions of 14 states from Texas to Minnesota, urban sprawl and conversion to cropland have left less than 10% of this magnificent American landscape. Since 1989, the Conservancy has proven successful at restoring this fully-functioning portion of the tallgrass prairie ecosystem with the use of about 2500 free-roaming bison and a “patch-burn” model approach to prescribed burning.” – Nature Conservancy website

 

I like to visit the preserve to see the buffalo, properly called “bison.”   They are massive creatures and I’m always struck with the wish to have seen them 200 years ago when herds of many million stretched from Texas to Canada.

I had the chance to see them this week when I visited the reserve and encountered this small herd, part of the roughly 2000 animals that call the Tall Grass Prairie Preserve home.  Here’s a look at this visit.

If you’d like to learn more about the reserve and the bison, visit this link.