From our campground in Osage Hills State Park in northwestern Oklahoma, we drove about 12 miles west to the town of Pawhuska, OK to reach the entrance of The Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, which is owned and managed by The Nature Conservancy. The Preserve, which contains about 39,000 acres, is the largest tract of remaining tallgrass prairie in the world. The original Great Plains stretched from Texas to Manitoba, Canada.
The road through the Preserve is unpaved and dusty. The Conservancy burns sections of the preserve each year to stimulate new growth of grasses and to kill any invasive plants.
There are about 2,500 bison roaming freely. The Conservancy maintains this number to keep the population in check.
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Bison eat about 30 pounds of grass a day!
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| The grass is greener on the other side of the road! |
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| Thank goodness for zoom lenses! |
We were able to hike through a portion of the preserve that was closed to bison. The views were beautiful.
There were a variety of wild flowers along the path.
The bison began retreating over the ridge, but we decided to stay to watch the sunset. A storm was brewing.
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Lightning strike!
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| Sunset on the Prairie |
From our campground in Osage Hills State Park in northwestern Oklahoma, we drove about 12 miles west to the town of Pawhuska, OK to reach the entrance of The Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, which is owned and managed by The Nature Conservancy. The Preserve, which contains about 39,000 acres, is the largest tract of remaining tallgrass prairie in the world. The original Great Plains stretched from Texas to Manitoba, Canada.
The road through the Preserve is unpaved and dusty. The Conservancy burns sections of the preserve each year to stimulate new growth of grasses and to kill any invasive plants.
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