Leaders from the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve near Strong City collected 20 bison — more informally, buffalo — from a unique herd of about 500 in the Black Hills of South Dakota. They hope the 20 will be the beginning of a herd of about 100 that will roam the public parkland in the Flint Hills for all to see. They hope it is the beginning of much — a new tourist attraction, a new start for a species that once dominated the Flint Hills, and a new window for people to see the unique beauty of one of the continent’s rarer ecosystems. “Some of the beauty of our grasslands is a little more subtle,” said Kristen Hase, chief of natural resources for the Flint Hills preserve. “This is going to be a big bang, basically.”
The Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve attracts about 20,000 visitors per year. Leaders there don’t have any firm estimate about how much a buffalo herd may increase visitation, but they expect it to help significantly. “I can tell you people are very excited about it,” said Wendy Lauritzen, superintendent for the Tallgrass Preserve. “Businesses in Cottonwood Falls and Strong City are anticipating the bison coming out here because we do know that people will come out to see bison.” The herd will be confined to about an 1,100-acre pasture that is included on the park’s bus tours. The pasture area also will have hiking trails for the public to explore the herd on its own. Although there are private herds in the state, the Tallgrass herd is expected to be one of the few in the state so open to the public.
