Bison Reintroduced

Reintroducing Bison at Spring Lake Park Reserve

By Tom Lewanski, Dakota County Parks

Prior to European settlement, 30-60 million bison roamed North America, from Mexico into Canada and from the Rocky Mountains to the east coast, with the majority of the animals located in the prairie region of the continent. Bison had profound impacts on the prairie. Their grazing habitats and wallowing resulted in a heterogenous mix of plants which resulted in habitat for many, many animal species. Grazing was one of the natural processes, along with the climate and fire, that kept the prairie sustainable and diverse. Dakota County Parks has been restoring hundreds of acres of prairie within its parks to recreate some of the original land cover. Staff have been using fire as a restoration and management tool. The County is now embarking on a project to reintroduce the third crucial natural process to some of the prairie: grazing by bison. Spring Lake Park, along the Mississippi River, is the chosen park for this bison reintroduction. There will be multiple benefits to this project. The prairie within the park, will once again be grazed by this iconic animal of the prairie and park visitors will have the opportunity to learn about the prairie ecosystem, the bison and the relationship that this animal had and have with the indigenous people of the area.