{"id":438193,"date":"2025-12-10T16:18:14","date_gmt":"2025-12-10T16:18:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/438193\/"},"modified":"2025-12-10T16:18:14","modified_gmt":"2025-12-10T16:18:14","slug":"hundreds-of-years-in-the-making-shaw-local","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/438193\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Hundreds of years in the making\u2019 \u2013 Shaw Local"},"content":{"rendered":"

For the first time in more than 200 years, the thunder of bison hooves can once again be heard on a Kane County<\/a> forest preserve prairie. <\/p>\n

The triumphant return of American bison, the \u201cbuffalo\u201d of lore, to Burlington Prairie Forest Preserve near Sycamore<\/a> represents something more than just reestablishing the keystone species to its ancestral homeland. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s about planting roots, resurrecting vestiges of the Illinois tallgrass prairie, a golden sea of grasses that once waved far upon the horizon unbroken in all directions.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A herd of American bison, which can run up to 35 mph, explore their new home at Burlington Prairie Forest Preserve in Sycamore on Dec. 5, 2025. (Photo Provided By: Keeping Moments Photography, Forest Preserve District of Kane County)<\/p>\n

Herds of bison were eradicated from the Prairie State by human destruction of the tallgrass prairie and overhunting. The last recorded native bison in Illinois was humbled by a hunter\u2019s gun in 1837.<\/p>\n

The tall grasses nearly followed the bison\u2019s fate, with less than one-tenth of 1% of the ecosystem surviving the conversion of the prairie to farmland and developments.<\/p>\n

Like the resilience of prairie grasses whose roots can stretch 5 yards deep into the soil, the partnership among the Forest Preserve District of Kane County<\/a>, the American Indian Center of Chicago<\/a> and the company hired to manage the herd, Ruhter Bison, highlights the enduring survival of the bison spirit.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople have wanted to bring buffalo back since we first learned our actions could cause the extinction of a species,\u201d Benjamin Haberthur, Kane County forest preserve district executive director, said in a release. \u201cThis is something I\u2019ve waited my entire career to see, it\u2019s an honor to play a small part in this continental project. This is a moment that transcends generations. This day has been hundreds of years in the making, I\u2019m glad we\u2019re here to be a part of this historic occasion.\u201d<\/p>\n

Haberthur said before the first few bison, which can weigh up to 2,000 pounds, stepped off the trailer into their new Kane County home on Dec. 5, land managers spent years slowly growing remnant herds across the country to reintroduce bison to their historic North American range.<\/p>\n

Reintroduction of bison was promised to residents as part of the 2024 Land Acquisition and Preserve Improvement Referendum. Bison are already located at Fermilab in Batavia, but what makes this project extra special is returning them to their native prairie ecosystem. There are 114 grass and flower species at Burlington Prairie Forest Preserve alone.<\/p>\n

The uprooting of the prairie, beginning during the industrial revolution, eroded the unique soil microbiome that took thousands of years to form beneath the bison\u2019s hooves. Countless plant and animal species intertwined with the ecosystem vanished with the bison.<\/p>\n

With the help of conservation agencies, often seeding by hand, flowers like white wild indigo, blazing stars and pale purple coneflowers are once again blooming from the protected prairie soil.<\/p>\n

\"American<\/p>\n

American bison acclimate to their new environment at Burlington Prairie Forest Preserve in Sycamore on Dec. 5, 2025. (Photo Provided By: Keeping Moments Photography, Forest Preserve District of Kane County)<\/p>\n

Patrick Chess, the forest preserve natural resource management director, said it\u2019s fascinating how symbiotic every dependent part of the tallgrass prairie ecosystem is to each of the others.<\/p>\n

Bison \u201cfeed on prairie plants, and wallow on and use the land,\u201d Chess said. \u201cWallowing causes small depressions that fill with water and then create their own microclimates that provide habitat for other wildlife. Everything is interconnected. Anytime we can restore a property and bring back long-lost flora and fauna, it\u2019s a victory.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before the bison explored their new haven, the American Indian Center of Chicago, which owns the herd, held a ceremonial blessing of the land.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is something that feels both historic and deeply personal for us as a community,\u201d Jay Young, AIC executive director said. \u201cIt\u2019s a \u2018rematriation\u2019 \u2013 the return of relatives who have been missing from this place for far too long. Bison have carried our stories, our teachings, and our responsibilities for generations. Welcoming them home is an important moment for our people and for the generations who will come after us.\u201d <\/p>\n

Young said the reintroduction represents a broader healing reconnecting his people to the land that shaped their community\u2019s identity. <\/p>\n

\u201cLiving in an urban area, it\u2019s rare to stand on open prairie, feel the earth move, or be close to bison relatives in a way that reflects our teachings,\u201d Young said. \u201cBringing them home opens a doorway for our community to remember who we are and to rebuild connections that history tried to sever.\u201d<\/p>\n

The AIC is further partnering with the forest preserve district to create educational programming so the public to learn from the bison and the ecosystem they help sustain. A community science program is being launched this spring, where community scientists can help monitor prairie health, track changes over time, and help take care of the vital ecosystem. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a chance for our community to be part of the restoration of both land and relationships,\u201d Young said.<\/p>\n

The new herd of bison are currently acclimating to their new environment. Later this month, they will be released into the area\u2019s larger prairie to roam around freely. <\/p>\n

The public will be able to experience the bison this spring with events being planned to celebrate and welcome the bison back to Kane County. <\/p>\n

You can learn more by visiting kaneforest.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For the first time in more than 200 years, the thunder of bison hooves can once again be…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":438194,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[4749,4788,50014,202576,1818,31887,728,159,67,132,68,837],"class_list":{"0":"post-438193","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-animal","9":"tag-conservation","10":"tag-dekalb-county","11":"tag-forest-preserve-district","12":"tag-illinois","13":"tag-kane-county","14":"tag-local-news","15":"tag-science","16":"tag-united-states","17":"tag-unitedstates","18":"tag-us","19":"tag-wildlife"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115696181577637717","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/438193","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=438193"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/438193\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/438194"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=438193"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=438193"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=438193"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}