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Oklahoma Prairie Country~Home Page of Van Vives~ |
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Welcome to my Home Page! You will find interesting facts and
information on this site pertaining to nature, conservation, tall grass
prairies, prairie wild flowers, and the American bison. There will also
be information about the pioneers of the west, cowboys, desperadoes,
Native Americans, ranchers, and early oil barons. Most of these topics
will pertain particularly to the state of Oklahoma, and especially to
northeast Oklahoma. You will soon notice that much of what is presented
on this web site is influenced by The Tallgrass Prairie.
The Tallgrass Prairie Preserve The Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, which is owned and managed by the The Nature Conservancy, is located in northeastern Oklahoma, near Pawhuska. It consists of about thirty-nine thousand acres of rolling hills at the southern end of the Flint Hills. From atop one of the hills one can view a spectacular panorama of colorful wild flowers and tall bluestem grass and wild rye waving in the breezes. Over two thousand American bison grazing on the lush grasses transports one to a time many years ago when the prairies were teaming with bison and the Native Americans of the Osage tribe, mounted on horseback, rode across the hills and valleys. When this great country began there was an estimated 142 million acres of tallgrass prairie extending from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. Now less than 10% remains, and most of that is scattered in small land holdings. We are fortunate to have the largest contiguous managed acreage of tallgrass prairie here in Oklahoma. The Nature Conservancy, which owns it, is dedicated to restoring it to its original prairie ecosystem. The public is invited to visit The Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, with its more than 2000 bison (buffalo), and learn about the conservation efforts being introduced by the Conservancy and the many research projects being conducted by our Oklahoma universities. You can learn more by visiting the other pages on this web site. Preserve is open 24/7
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