Oak Forest HS Ecology Club Visits Nachusa Grassland

The Oak Forest High School Ecology Club took a trip recently to the Nachusa Grasslands to visit the first roaming buffalo herd to walk the Illinois Prairie since 1805. According to the club’s sponsor, Dawn Sasek, the Nachusa Grassland received its herd from wild stock derived from a few original animals discovered in the early 1900’s on a farm in South Dakota. The animals were tested for purity to ensure no bovine genes were introduced by cross-breeding. She said, “What is most exciting is that this past spring, semi-wild buffalo were born in Illinois for the first time in almost 200 years. The Ecology club members made the two hour ride to view this magnificent site!! The herd increased from 25 to 47 with the arrival of the new young.” The week after the Ecology club visited Nachusa, another wild herd was delivered to the National Midewin Grasslands located in Wilmington, Illinois. This project is part of a National movement to restore the magnificent American bison, a critical component of a healthy prairie ecosystem whose numbers dropped from over 60 million to less than 1,000. The Ecology Club has been restoring a prairie remnant at 167th and Central for over 10 years. This small prairie remnant serves as a seed bank for rare species with the hope of expanding the habitat that will support future wild herds of bison.