Bison return to prairie at Dakota County's Spring Lake Park Reserve
DAKOTA COUNTY, Minn. -- Bison have returned to the prairie in Dakota County, officials announced Friday.
Seven bison are now roaming fenced paddocks on 150 acres at the Spring Lake Park Reserve. Officials say Dakota County is the first Minnesota county to reintroduce bison to the prairie.
"The return of bison to the prairieland of Dakota County is a terrific natural resources success story," said Dakota County Commissioner Mike Slavik in a release. "The bison will help improve the prairie ecosystem, and the sight of these animals roaming the land will be stunning for visitors to Spring Lake Park Reserve."
The county said the herd could grow to as many as 15 animals. The bison are currently not visible, but will have a public introduction next spring, officials said.
The reintroduction was a multiyear effort made possible through a $560,000 grant and $851,000 in state bonding.
According to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, bison once thrived in Minnesota, but were all but wiped out in the wild by 1900 due to "settlement and slaughter by market hunters and the U.S. Army."
Earlier this year, Minneopa State Park in Mankato gained a record number of baby bison. At least 14 were born in the park. The park had 31 bison before those births.