Bison Spotting at the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve

Located in Osage County, Oklahoma, about 35 miles west-northwest of Bartlesville and just north of Pawhuska is the largest protected area of tallgrass prairie in the world, the Joseph H. Williams Tallgrass Prairie Preserve. The Great Plains preserve was established in 1989 and managed by The Nature Conservancy. Visitors can enjoy watching bison roam freely over 23,000 of the 39,650 acres of land designated for the nature preserve, as well as spot 300 bird species, over 700 plants, and 80 mammals. And their most recent bison head count totals 2,500!

Before the Nature Conservancy purchased the land in 1989, much of it was located within the Barnard Ranch, of which rodeo champion Ben Johnson Sr. was the foreman. His son, Ben Johnson Jr., was also a rodeo champion and an actor who appeared in numerous films including Peter Bogdanovich’s 1971 film The Last Picture Show.

Oilman Kenneth Adams donated 300 bison to the preserve in 1993, and the herd has been growing ever since. The bison feed mainly on the grasses that grow in the prairie, and the grasses grow thanks to patch fires that burn out invasive plants each year, otherwise it would be brushland. The indigenous Osage people started this tradition of burning the grasses to encourage new growth. To ensure the health of the bison on the preserve, each bison currently gets a check-up for weigh-ins and vaccinations every fall.

My friends and I set out to see the preserve for Thanksgiving weekend and enjoyed driving through the park as the sun set on the brown and golden hues of November grasses swaying across the open terrain. We spotted plenty of bison as well as deer and saw several different kinds of birds including hawks. Here are some of my photo highlights from our visit.