Bison Return to Illinois
photos by Charles Larry
Just a little west of Ashton (about 6 miles), you can now step back in time and watch the buffalo roam the Nachusa Grasslands. That’s right, buffalo…or more correctly bison. These are not your petting zoo type of bison either, they are a pure strain of wild bison that have been imported back to the Nachusa Grasslands to help restore this habitat back to its native state. The Nachusa Grasslands is a project of the Nature Conservancy that is dedicated to returning a piece of Illinois back to the native prairie that once covered almost our entire state. What started as a small project in 1986 has turned into a preserve of 3,800 acres and growing. Dozens of volunteers, including some Crest employees, put in countless hours making this preserve work. The logic behind the reintroduction of bison is that these grazing animals will eat certain plants, making room for others to flourish resulting in a more complete ecosystem with a balance of native grasses and plants, bugs and animals. Several dozen Buffalo are currently confined to about 400 acres of the property with a very sturdy and hopefully bison resistant fence. Over the next year, the number of acres fenced along with the total number of bison will be more than tripled. The Nachusa Grasslands is a very unique project that is tucked away right in our own backyard. Crest has been involved with this project for the last 25 years with financial support as well as the volunteer support of Crest em- ployees. Drive by sometime and see how beautiful the prairie landscape can be – it changes almost every week. If you’re lucky you might catch a glimpse of the bison on the prairie, and that is something that hasn’t been seen in Illinois in the last 200 years.
22 Crest Ink January, February & March 2015
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker