Joseph H. Williams Tallgrass Prairie Preserve

In 1985 local supporters asked the federal government to buy one of the big ranches for a national park. Many ranchers, oilmen and members of the Osage Nation opposed the plan, and a 1987 bill for a 50,000-acre park run by the Park Service failed. In 1989 The Nature Conservancy bought about 29,000 acres of the old Chapman-Barnard Ranch instead. Today the preserve covers 39,650 acres, and the Conservancy calls it the largest protected tallgrass prairie left on earth. The Conservancy does not own the mineral rights, so oil wells still pump on the land.

In 1993 the preserve brought back 300 bison, given by the rancher Kenneth Adams. The herd has since grown to about 2,500, and it grazes ground that is burned in patches, a third of the productive range each year. During the fall roundup, from October 1 into late November, the herd is out of sight of the road.

A 15-mile drive loops through the range; bison are dangerous, so stay in the car. Three trails start near the visitor center: a level half mile on the Sand Creek bottomland, a one-mile study loop, and the two-mile Prairie Earth Trail over steep hills. Mathews built his stone cabin here in 1932 and called it The Blackjacks. He wrote Wah'kon-tah and Talking to the Moon there. The Conservancy bought the cabin in 2014 and offers free tours on the fourth Saturday of each month from May to October. Space is limited, so ask ahead.