'The 38,700 acres (15,661 hectares) Tallgrass Prairie Preserve is located in the Flint Hills region of northeast Oklahoma, near Pawhuska. A donated starter herd of 300-head was introduced in the fall of 1993, which shared origins with the Medano Zapata herd. The herd of 1,490 head, as of 2002, occupies a 14,400-acre (5,827 hectares) year-round unit of tallgrass prairie. Plans call for an ultimate herd of 2,100 over-wintering bison (3,200 with spring calves) on 30,400 acres (12,302 hectares) by the year 2005. Randomly selected growing and dormant season prescribed burns are used to improve seasonal forage quality and to provide a mosaic of landscape patches that maintains biotic diversity.'

Acknowledgements

This article is a lightly edited reproduction of source material provided to docents of the Tall Grass Prairie Preserve by The Nature Conservancy for dissemination to the public.