prairie – Land Between the Lakes

06 May 2016

Tree Planting at the Elk and Bison Prairie

Elk & Bison Prairie, Field Guide, Natural Resource Management, Plants, Restoration, Stewardshipbison, elk, habitat, Kentucky, land between the lakes, natural resources, planting, prairie, tennessee, trees

Submitted by Yvonne Helton, Silviculturist We recently planted approximately 1500 shortleaf pine and 70 Bur Oak seedlings within the perimeter of the Elk & Bison Prairie. We chose areas where pine mortality occurred and staff burned off debris piles. So why did we plant Shortleaf Pine? We value fire tolerant traits such as its ability to re-sprout and natural resistance to fire scar rot. Shortleaf Pine also produces frequent cone crops. These attributes suit the Elk & Bison Prairie perfectly. Shortleaf Pine may also create a more diverse habitat. We observed declines of Virginia Pine in the Elk & Bison…

14 Apr 2015

By LBL_Admin

Baby Bison Begin to Arrive!

Elk & Bison Prairie, Field Guide, Wildlifebaby, bison, buffalo, calf, herd, Kentucky, land between the lakes, prairie, spring, tennessee

Submitted by Curtis Fowler, Range Technician at Land Between The Lakes It’s that time of year again. Bison at the Elk and Bison Prairie and the South Bison Range are starting to have their calves! Three calves were born at the Elk and Bison Prairie over the weekend. One calf was born at the South Bison Range, across from the Homeplace 1850's Working Farm and Living History Museum. A second calf was born there today (Tuesday, April 14, 2015). These calves are the first of many to come. Most bison calves on Land Between The Lakes will be born during the months…

06 Oct 2014

By LBL_Admin

Asters Are Blooming!

Elk & Bison Prairie, Field Guide, Plantsaster, bison, blooming, elk, flower, pollinators, prairie

Submitted by Curtis Fowler, Range Technician at Land Between The Lakes The asters are blooming, the asters are blooming!! When you stop by the Elk & Bison Prairie to see the majestic animals, take some time to look at nature's smaller wonders. These little Aromatic Asters (Aster oblongifolius) are providing late season sustenance to lots of little flying insects. Go pollinators! Description and Adaptation Aromatic aster is a native perennial wildflower that grows from 1–3 feet tall. The aster’s rigid stems branch out from the base and give off a balsam-like scent when crushed. The flowers are composite with purple…

23 Jul 2014

By LBL_Admin

Bloody Bison

Elk & Bison Prairie, Wildlifebison, bison herd, elk, elk and bison prairie, herd, horn, injury, prairie

By Curtis Fowler, Elk & Bison Prairie Manager If you visited or will be visiting the Elk & Bison Prairie today or the next few days, you may get a glimpse of a bison that damaged its right horn cap sometime between last night and this morning when we checked the herd. This type of injury is fairly minor. It does produce a lot of blood as you can see by the photo. This is a female yearling. She must have bumped something harder than her horn. This “bump” broke the seal on her horn between her hard outer shell…

01 Jul 2014

By LBL_Admin

New Elk Calves at Elk & Bison Prairie

Customer Service, Elk & Bison Prairie, Restoration, Wildlifebabies, calves, cows, elk, elk and bison prairie, prairie

The following is provided by Curtis Fowler, Range Technician at Land Between The Lakes: Here are some more photos of elk calves taken last week at the Elk and Bison Prairie. Some of the calves and their mothers have been exploring in small groups, so calves are occasionally seen in the late evenings. We have confirmed at least 7 different calves so far, but expect that others are out there hiding. We suspect a few others are still to come. Enjoy your visit! --Curtis

Tag: prairie