Nachusa Grasslands sees surge in visitors for bison tours, prairie hikes

More than 70 volunteers were on hand to guide and inform nearly 1,000 visitors

Volunteer Don Panozzo educates a group of tourists who are checking out a herd of bison on Saturday at the Nachusa Grasslands’ annual Autumn on the Prairie.

FRANKLIN GROVE – For a later-summer day, it was nearly perfect conditions for viewing bison and hiking.

Nearly 1,000 people were at Nachusa Grasslands on Saturday for the return of Autumn on the Prairie.

“The day went very smoothly,” said Bill Kleiman, Nachusa Grasslands project director. “The weather was excellent – sunny and warm but not hot.”

Nachusa Grasslands is a 4,000-acre preserve consisting of large remnant prairie, woodlands and wetlands being reconnected through habitat restoration, according to the conservancy’s website. It creates “one of the largest and most biologically diverse grasslands in Illinois.”

Autumn on the Prairie drew about 930 visitors and recruited 70 volunteers, Kleiman said.

“That’s pretty high for us,” he said. “We might have had 1,200 five years ago when we first got bison, but getting near 1,000 is a pretty solid number.”

Bison returned to the preserve in 2014.

Visitors filled five wagons on rides to look for bison, Kleiman said.

“Frequently, the bison were very close by and people were visibly excited to see them up close,” he said. “We also had hiking tours every half-hour and most of those were full all day long, too.”

The conservancy didn’t add any new programs for Autumn on the Prairie, but it is always willing to make adjustments for the event based on feedback, Kleiman said.

The core of the preserve features more than 700 species of native plants and more than 230 species of birds.

Alexa Zoellner

Alexa Zoellner

Alexa Zoellner reports on Lee, Ogle and Whiteside counties for Shaw Media out of the Dixon office. Previously, she worked for the Record-Eagle in Traverse City, Michigan, and the Daily Jefferson County Union in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin.