The Tall Grass Prairie Preserve
Driving north out of Tulsa we left the city’s stately trees and entered the low rolling hills and section line wind breaks typical of northern Oklahoma and southern Kansas. As we turned west near Ramona, we crossed a small creek and topped a knoll, where the landscape opened onto a seemingly endless prairie. The grasslands rolled into the distance like an ocean. Homes spaced miles apart spoke of a healthy rural economy based on oil leases and ranching. The poverty so common to other parts of rural Oklahoma seemed to have skipped over this part of the state.
Pawhuska is a town built in the 20’s and rebuilt in the 90’s to a new purpose. Craft and antique stores support Main Street, but there where also authentic main street businesses. Hardware, department and barbershops serve the local community.
Going north out of town you enter the Tall Grass Prairie Preserve. The Nature Conservancy purchased 39,000 acres from the Barnard family in 1989 and has been restoring the fidelity of the native prairie since then. They have reintroduced native plant species, management by fire, which was one of the reasons the prairie existed, and a herd of buffalo which fill an important niche in the prairie ecosystem and are the principal symbol of 
the prairie to most of us.
The prairie looks like an endless carpet from the road, but an intimate look reveals a complex mix of hundreds of plant and animal species. This is no simple pasture. There are infinite smaller landscapes all around you. A damselfly and a scissor-tailed flycatcher are engaged in an aerial dance. Perched on a dead branch or big bluestem the Dickcissels declare their territory, each 50 yards from the other. The swallows patrol a trickle of water for a grasshopper or dragon fly coming to lay eggs or just for a drink.
Water shapes this land, flowing unseen across the sod until it gathers enough to make a rill. Often it will go underground in the heat of summer, only to come out as a spring on top of a bluff line, dripping over the rocks. Eventually gathering into a slow moving creek, carving a gully deep enough to offer protection from the wind. With a steady supply of water, the creek forms an oasis of trees, grasses and wildlife that prefer a more sheltered home. It is here that the swallows build their communal home. In the muddy banks of the creek they craft small adobe nests. Animals frequent these biological margins; between woods and grass, land and water, they come to eat and drink while others come to hunt. When its time for security, however, the plains offer the anonymity of open land, where a bird nest on the ground is impossible to find.
So much of the prairie is contained in the half of it above the horizon. The wind is always at your shoulder. The weather is a person who lives with you. On a summer’s afternoon the building cumulus march across the sky in an endless parade, leaving their shadows to morph across the grasslands. In early summer the cumulus build into huge thunderheads, which can be seen rolling in from a hundred miles away. The storm gets closer and a wall cloud bears down. Every time you glance its way, it is closer. As it goes overhead a gust front blast you with dust, and flattens the grass. In minutes the smell of rain is in the air, then huge drops begin to pepper you. Soon she
ets of rain are hammering the ground and creeks are born where before there where none. By sunset the sky has nearly cleared. The sun is hidden behind flaming orange clouds as indigo takes over the sky. Nighthawks cruise the fresh, clean air and a barred owl calls from the cottonwood tree. Thousands of millions of stars rule the night. The darkness reveals more worlds than you can imagine. The cool of dawn finds wisps of yesterday’s storm streaking across the sky as meadowlarks welcome another day with their song.
This is a beguiling place of delicately intricate landscapes and a powerful sky.
Enjoy a visit to the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve. Spring and fall are the most enjoyable times to visit. A scenic route on public county roads takes visitors through the heart of the preserve. Starting and returning in Pawhuska, the drive is approximately 35 miles, and takes about 2 hours at a leisurely pace. Four scenic turnouts are located along the route. A self-guided nature trail is located near the preserve headquarters. Hikers can take the short loop (1 mile) or the long loop (3 miles). There is a picnic area near the preserve headquarters. Camping, hunting and fishing are not allowed on the preserve. Trail guides are available on the weekends and by special arrangement on other days; contact the Tulsa office to make trail guide arrangements.
The preserve is open dawn until dusk, every day of the year. There is no admittance fee. From March through November volunteers staff the Preserve Headquarters from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
