Posted on 11/09/2020 9:46:55 AM PST by re_tail20
Once upon a time, prairie was the primary ecosystem in Indiana, but in the last 200 years, almost all of it has been plowed under for agriculture.
Today, less than 1 percent of original, native prairie remains.
The Nature Conservancy has been working to convert 7000 acres of row-crop farmland back into diverse prairie for the last 20 years.
There are now over 750 species of plants and 250 species of butterflies on the newly restored chunk of prairie, called the Kankakee Sands Nature Preserve.
Most of the native plants and insects were able to find their way back “home” on their own. The bison needed a little assistance.
In October of 2016, the Nature Conservancy brought 23 bison onto the preserve from another preserve in South Dakota...
(Excerpt) Read more at returntonow.net ...
Oops..i guess i needed a /s.
Cool. Enviros should remember to thank the yield boost from GMO corn and soybeans for making the diversion of good farm ground possible/affordable.
Did the Republicans wipe out the Unicorns?
There were over 300 million American bison in the 1800’s. I am glad to see them return to growing in numbers, they are magnificent animals.
I really doubt that they are roaming free.
There many roads and a freeway in the area.
They are most likely in a high fence enclosure.
Might be fairly large area but they are fenced in and are not free to roam where ever they want.
Nice. Herd animals like bison are a necessary part of a prairie, a counter-intuitive fact discovered during desertification research in Africa. I don’t get the hostility to this being expressed by some here, especially since this project is done by a private group. Native prairies improve soil and water retention and give wildlife a place to thrive. Some of us actually like being able to see some of the flora and fauna that Audubon witnessed. Too bad the America chestnut can’t be on that list.
The Nature Conservancy despite of their propaganda is a scam - they kick people off their property over environmental issues using the Federal government to force the taking for below market prices. Then, TNC “administers” the property for the Gov, selling some back to recoup costs, and sell other bits to their members, who continue to use the property in the same fashion as the original (now bankrupt owners). American Rivers and others run the same or a variation of this scam.
Right, they aren’t really roaming, they are confined to that area, and they will inbreed.
Texas has wind and solar farms, but they are in the empty desert spaces-mostly in W Texas where there isn’t a lot of birds and other wildlife to be harmed-and no rich nimbys to whine-I’m fine with that-anyway, solar is more reliable on a smaller scale-like each person having their own panels and batteries, or a rural co-op-since sun and wind are not constant or totally predictable, that green deal s*** is a recipe for disaster-oil and gas are available from the earth in all kinds of weather-the sun and wind are not-democrats are idiots-they probably think there are unicorns, too...
Being ranch-raised I was taught that land planted with crops loses nutrients after awhile and needs to be left fallow for a few growing seasons-you let native grasses/plants grow and turn livestock out to graze-and crap-in that field-free fertilizer, so you can move the livestock to another pasture and plant the refreshed one again-it works just fine.
Those Buffalo/Bison are most certainly in a huge fenced enclosure like a game preserve-they are too dangerous to be running amok-look what happens to stupid tourists who ignore signs and approach them in parks-they get run down. Hopefully, when there are enough Bison in that place, there will be a season and permits sold to hunt, like is done in other states with other animals for proper game management-Bison is beef-
Farm land was No. 1 since the beginning of time.
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Come on, man! Food comes from grocery stores, dont’cha know?
Buffalo roam free in the Yukon - no acreage limits - sometimes have to wait 1/2 hour for the herd at full gallop to cross the highway
This is nice I suppose, but they're not roaming free
My electric co-op in WI, despite pressure has refused to purchase solar or wind power. If I recall correctly, their charter requires them to act in the interests of members, thus no expensive power. Passing the cost along as a corporation responsible to shareholder would, is a non starter. My guess this isn't a position all co-ops take.
Up here in NYS, solar is taking over the farmlands....thousands and thousands of acres
The problem with Bison is they never stay where you put ‘em.
“seed from old railroad right-of-ways”
Do you find native grasses on railroad rights-of-way? Why didn’t non-native invasive grasses take over on the rights-of-way?
I live in a pretty remote rural area-our co-op gets over 50% of it’s power from wind and solar-they also own an interest in those wind and solar farms, so the cost is the same or less than before-they also encourage individuals to install solar panels for their own use with a sizeable rebate. Since we are far out here, they also provide the least expensive broadband and land line service-I have the whole thing and my bills are lower than my non-co-op acquaintances in the city, 50 miles away...
That is crazy-I guess they don’t care if people don’t have any food to eat-or maybe they think California will feed them? I don’t get putting solar or wind farms on perfectly good arable land-places like Texas, have non-productive land that isn’t good for growing/grazing, but I haven’t seen a lot of non-productive desert land in NY-so why put solar stuff on acreage that produces food? Makes no sense...
Installations are different, they encourage those. They purchase power, so costs may be different. Also, I suspect solar farms in WI produce more expensive power than Texas. Ironically wood (corn stalk, grass) pellets aren’t used much here. About as renewable as you get, and no batteries needed, nor wind. But unpopular as it’s burned
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