How Bison Are Saving America's Lost Prairie

↓ More info below ↓
American prairies were once home to as many as 60 million bison. But when ranching and agriculture displaced elk and bison from the prairies, America’s grasslands all but disappeared. Now, the Nature Conservancy manages the largest remaining protected tract of tallgrass prairie in the entire world, the Joseph H. Williams Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in northeastern Oklahoma.

This 40,000-acre expanse is much more than grass. It is a biologically rich habitat that harbors a diverse collection of plant and animal species—more than 750 species of flora and 80 different mammals. This prairie is also a vital component in nature’s fight against climate change. The key to keeping the prairie healthy? Bison.

The Nature Conservancy reintroduced 300 bison to this prairie in 1993, and the herd has grown to more than 2,000 animals today. They graze on the majority of the preserve, playing an important part in enhancing the prairies. Combined with a method of land management known as patch burning—preserve managers torch about a third of the acreage every spring, summer, and fall, mimicking ancient seasons of fire—the tallgrass prairie is thriving.

**********************************************
Hosted by Joe Hanson from It's Okay to be Smart, Overview uses incredible 4k drone footage to reveal the natural phenomena shaping our planet from a 10,000-foot view—literally.

[pratfallpratt]

I live in Kansas, in college one of my professors owned a ranch and his son started a small B&B business on it. They did trail rides and such with guests through their land, and every time they had a guest from Japan (or sometimes southeast Asia) they would almost always cry at some point in the ride because they were just so overwhelmed by seeing that much open land. I guess the vastness of it can be a lot if you're not used to it. One retired businessman actually had a full blown panic attack and had to be rushed back to the house bc he hyperventilated so badly. My professor said after the guest finally calmed down he kept saying he felt like the land was going to swallow him and he'd never find his way back home.

[sinistral]

Here in the UK, where bison have been extinct for thousands of years, a few European Bison have been recently reintroduced to a nature preserve in SE England. Like the bison in Oklahoma, the British bison will help restore ecosystems' lost diversity. Being ecosystem engineers, they will shape the environment by invigorating natural processes to create bio-abundance. Apart from grazing grass, the bison will create openings in woodlands by knocking down small trees, interspersing the habitat with open, light-flooded patches. These patches of sunlight can ultimately allow a wider array of plants and animals to flourish. The reintroduction of bison is part of a wider project of rewilding in the UK, which plans to reintroduce more once-native species to protected areas. In the future, wolves and lynxes may once again roam free in the British landscape. A wonderful prospect!

[JerzyFeliksKlein]

In Europe the center for Bison preservation is actually Poland where the animal has almost a sacred status. We orchestrate and manage the reintroduction across the entire continent. Because they were near extinction and they come from a very small gene pool we keep track of a DNA of every single European bison. They really are majestic creatures. In Europe, obviously we don't have the plains North America has, so the bison lives mostly in the forest. Fun fact - their horns are as wide as the widest part of their body so when strolling through a forest a bison will measure the distance between two trees with his horns to check whether he can pass through.

[nichochan]

They're doing exactly what's recommended for the reversal of desertification, which I honestly find more terrifying than climate change. It makes me happy they're doing this.

[vfmc]

This is what we need right now. Science, ecology, agriculture and respect for the animal.

[soldiercreekbison]

Just a little over a year ago we took the plunge and moved to the Tall Grass Prarie in Kansas to raise Bison. It's been quite the adventure and we learn something new everyday whether we wanted to or not. This video felt like being on the ranch. Nice work!

[henboker]

This the most encouraging bit of news I've seen in years; I've been fighting discouragement, depression and anger with freeloading, lying politicians, and the constant abuse of God's gift of mother earth to this country. I love this, guys [have belonged to Nature Conservancy for years.].

[cernunnos_lives]

I really hope we can bring back the plants and animals our ancestors knew.
The European Bison have even been reintroduced in a few places of their former range.
It's a real shame we lost many ice age species, like the Irish Elk or even Cave Lions.

[redwolfjoy]

I have visited the Tall Grass Prairie Preserve in spring about 12 years ago for a class field trip. It was a blustery day where a tornado touched down not far from us. The place is amazing. If traveling through Oklahoma, try to visit this magical place.

[libertyblueskyes]

My heart soars to see migratory bison on our prairie lands once again. It took us hundreds of years to trust nature again and use her methods to replenish the earth.

[carolannhook]

It's amazing to hear about the biodiversity in the prairie. I remember, growing up in the 80s and 90s, always hearing about how we can't destroy the rainforests because we need to protect the biodiversity. I wonder, now, why the US didn't have a similar attitude toward our own ecosystems. Did we really not understand the complex, beautiful systems that were right here in our own country or was there something a little more sinister, like hiding that info to allow the massive farming operations?

[leesks]

I took a road trip to South Dakota last summer. It was the best trip of my life. In the badlands national park we saw a ton of wild bison roaming around. Me and my dad came close to one near the edge of a cliff. It was a crazy experience. You can never forget seeing a bison up close. They are beautiful creatures. After that we visited a Lakota tribe museum and I bought a handmade necklace from them with a bison on it, it preserves my memory of wild bison with it

[navajoguy]

2, 000, for reference there used to be millions of bison roaming the Great Plains.
On the Flathead Reservation I used to see them on the horizon just grazing. My mom's tribe says they're very sacred. It'd be wonderous to see them roaming freely again.

[OldMtnGeezer]

A friend of mine was talking with a grizzled old rancher who was foreman on a bison ranch in Colorado. He asked if they were hard to handle. His reply: "Aww, they ain't so bad. You kin herd a buffalo enywhere he wants to go!"

[moisesjimenez]

With natural animal crossing bridges that pan over highways, I think it would be possible to give bison even more space to roam freely. This great ecological architecture has already been implemented across highway systems in the northwest both in the US and Canada; it's proven to save animals' lives and could be a good solution for restoring and maintaining the free roam prairie.

[rosewhite---]

Alfalfa roots go down 40 feet.
Here in West Yorkshire, UK, there are area of morass - boggy land on exposed hills - that have tussocks of ancient grass growing well above the surrounding marsh.
I know because I got lost in it one autumn afternoon when a storm and mist rolled in.
The tussocks are impossible to walk on and I was left floundering through the mud.
It was quite frightening despite being less that two miles from home!

[loneranger]

I would like to see a million bison come back.

[peacockmoss]

Something similar to the need for fire on the grasslands that I'd heard of (from Nova) is the need for fire in places like the sierra Nevada mountains. As some trees like the amazing Giant Sequoia (sequoiadendron giganteum) are actually fire resistant, & need the heat from fires to release their seeds, & as mentioned in this episode clear away other plants. As far as I am aware, this species of tree only grows in a few groves, & in recent years the spread has slowed greatly in part to fire prevention. Just thought that might be interesting. It's also been nice to see controlled burning (& fire in general) being mentioned on Terra recently. Thank you guys for the good work!

[anameofsomesort]

Great example also up in Northwest Indiana at the Indiana Prairie Project. It's a large area where hundreds of Bison live semi-free in a reserve similar to this, but on a smaller scale. Great to see these beautiful animals living once again in a lot of these places.

[timmteller]

Had the pleasure to be very close to Bisons in Roosevelt National Park. It was an amazing experience justvto see those giant herds roaming through the prairie.