Eastern Agriculture Students Tour Tallgrass Prairie Preserve
(Press Release 11-07-07)
Hank Mooney, Office of Public Information

Forty Eastern Oklahoma State College agriculture students visited the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve north of Pawhuska to study an ecosystem that originally covered most of the central United States. 

The 39,000 acre preserve is owned and managed by the Nature Conservancy and is the largest protected remnant of tallgrass prairie left on earth originally spanning portions of 14 states from Texas to Minnesota. 

The Nature Conservancy purchased the historic 29,000 acre Barnard Ranch in 1989 to begin establishing the current preserve.  Grazed but never plowed, the conditions on the ranch were favorable for the reestablishment of the native plants of the tallgrass prairie. 

To recreate a functioning ecosystem, the Wilburton college students were told, the Conservancy rested the grasslands for several years by removing the cattle.  Then it reintroduced the key elements without which no tallgrass prairie can thrive – fire and bison. 

Fire is a major aspect of the preserve management plan.  Approximately three dozen prescribed burns are conducted each year totaling 15,000 – 20,000 acres. 

The other primary key element is bison grazing.  Bison were reintroduced to the preserve in the early 1990s.  The current herd numbers approximately 2,400 head.  Patch burning and bison grazing create a habitat that can support the diverse group of plants and animals that make up the tallgrass prairie ecosystem.

“Today there are nearly 800 species of plants on the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve,” Eastern agriculture instructor Eddie Woods said.

“Our students toured a recent patch burn, observed a portion of the bison herd being readied for fall roundup and collected plant specimens from the prairie,” he said.

Woods said the mission of the Nature Conservancy is to preserve the plants, animals and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on earth.  The Conservancy currently manages 11 preserves in Oklahoma representing the diverse eco-regions located within the state.

Caption info:

Eastern agriculture students (l to r) Laura Beth O’Donnell, Carney sophomore; Eric Shaw, Antlers sophomore and Leah Bean, Broken Bow sophomore, wade through a sea of big bluestem at the TallGrass Prairie Preserve.