Brookhaven Courier

Issue date: 9/24/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Richard Freiheit BHC students have opportunities to help manage a herd of bison at Lewisville Lake Environmental Learning Area.

Before pioneers occupied the region of North Texas, prairies dominated the landscape and bison roamed freely. On Sept. 11 two guest speakers visited classes of Susan Maxey, geology professor, to speak about service learning opportunities through the Lewisville Lake Environmental Learning Area.

Richard Freiheit, restoration manager for LLELA, invited geology students to help manage a herd of 28 bison in Lewisville. He said bison were once native to the North Texas prairie but were extirpated about 100 years ago.

Freiheit said the main goals of LLELA are to preserve and protect native biodiversity and to restore an ecosystem while providing educational and scientific use.

Freiheit said prairie restoration is the main focus at this time and having a herd of bison is part of this restoration. Seeds are planted at LLELA and the bison graze the area, he said. Freiheit said rotational grazing by the bison lets the land restore itself and preserve diversity.

Kenneth L. Steigman, director of LLELA, said: "Restoration activities can be very powerful experiences. Participating allows one to contribute, to make the earth better than it was yesterday, to heal and to leave a positive mark at a time when so many human-induced catastrophic environmental issues are facing humanity."

Prescribed burning is also practiced at LLELA, Freiheit said.

"Prescribed burning simulates the natural fires that would have occurred prior to man, fences and fire department," Steigman said.

Since the main focus is prairie restoration, volunteers are needed to harvest and plant seeds, Steigman said.

"We go out and hand collect the seeds with permission from the land owners," Freiheit said. "We are really hoping for a large collection of seeds because of all the rain we have been having."

Twenty species of native plants are currently planted at LLELA, Freiheit said.

He said if an area of land is natural prairie and is sold to say a CVS pharmacy, he goes in and digs out the plants and moves them to LLELA.

"We kinda have an emotional bond with these areas, [prairies]" Freiheit said. "We gotta save what we can."

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