Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie

Hi everyone, today I will be talking about the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie which is located in Wilmington, Il. Mick and I visited here over Valentine's Day weekend, and we had a great experience. We learned a lot about the history of the land and the bison that reside there.

Midewin is one of the few places in Illinois where bison live and where you can see them! Interestingly, it also has old ammunition bunkers and an abandoned munitions factory from when the Joliet Army Ammunition Plant used the land. When the military decided it no longer had use for the land, it was then turned into the only federally protected tallgrass prairie east of the Mississippi river in 1996.

One of the abandoned bunkers. Taken by Eli Mirek.

As many of you know, if you have read my blogs before, prairies of the Great Plains are one of the most endangered ecosystems. Having Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie founded was a very important step for ecologists and conservationists. It is home to over 40,000 acres of land! Even more importantly, in 2015, "The Bison Project" was implemented. The Bison Project was founded in the attempt to grow the low populations of bison in the Midwest, and, more broadly, the United States.

Millions and millions of bison used to roam the country, but when the Westward expansion happened, they were killed off in the thousands and almost became extinct. Only in the past 20-30 years has the U.S. Forest Service and other entities like the National Park Service began to create initiatives that actively protect and increase bison populations.

Mick and I were lucky enough to actually see some of the bison in the 1,200 acres assigned to the herd! We came across a young male bison right near the fence. Other people around us told us that they have been going to the prairie for years but never saw one this close! He was about 10 feet away from us at one point. It was so magical.

The bison that we saw! Taken by Eli Mirek.

Taken by Eli Mirek.

That's all I have today folks. I'm sorry for the short blog; I know I usually go more in depth. See you all in two weeks.