Wildlife and Biology

Mammals, Birds, Reptiles and Amphibians
Approximately 120 mammal species live within the state of Kansas. Large mammal species, such as:

Odocoileus hemionus hemionus (mule deer) ,

Odocoileus virginianus (white-tailed deer)
, and
Antilocapra americana

(antelope) have been observed within the area of the preserve. Bison bison

(bison) were "abundant" in all counties in the state when the first European settlers arrived. They were gone from the Flint Hills area by the early 1870s; the last reported sightings in the state were in 1898 (Choate 1987). The following animals were once prevalent on the prairie, but are no longer: Ursus americanus
 
(black bear),

Ursus horribilis (grizzly bear), Felis concolor (mountain lion), and
Cervus canadensis

(elk).

428 species of birds are known to occur within Kansas.  In August 1999 a survey of the grassland, reported identifying 132 bird species with15 of those being specifically grassland associated species. 

Twenty-eight species of amphibians (8 salamander, and 20 frog and toad) and 53 species of reptiles (4 turtle, 12 lizard, and 37 snake) are found in the state. Twenty-one species, including both amphibians and reptiles, are found at the preserve. 

Fisheries
Twenty-four species of fish were identified in Fox Creek in 1995. At that time, people were concerned at the increased number of Micropterus salmoides (Lacepede) (largemouth bass) and the decreased number of Micropterus punctulatas (Rafinesque) (spotted bass).  The large number of stock ponds is thought to contribute to this imbalance, as species are released from ponds during flood events.

Additional sampling within Palmer Creek and two unnamed tributaries found 14 species of fish, including the Topeka shiner and the Luxilis cardinalis (cardinal shiner). The Topeka shiner, found in two of the unnamed tributaries, is federally listed as an endangered species and the cardinal shiner is a State SINC species. Pimephales promelas (Rafinesque) (fathead minnow), found in large numbers in ponds, were also located in the tributary headwaters, implicating the ponds in affecting the natural fishery.

Threatened and Endangered Species
The Topeka shiner is federally-listed as an endangered species under the authority of the Endangered Species Act of 1973.

The federally-listed threatened Haliaeetus leucocephalus

(bald eagle) may also occasionally occur on the preserve.

The federally-endangered Noturus placidus

(Neosho madtom) is suspected of being in the Cottonwood River of which Fox Creek is a tributary; however, it has not been found at the preserve.

Fire Management
The historic role of fire in the prairie ecosystem is well documented. Fire that is highly variable in both frequency and seasonality is essential for the prairie ecosystem. It is this variability that encourages the greatest expression of biological diversity.

Fire also plays an important role in the management of Flint Hills prairies as pastures. Since most of the leased pastures throughout the Flints Hills are lightly stocked in the latter months of the growing season, vegetation remains into the fall resulting in a large accumulation of biomass during the winter. Since it is difficult to control the spread of wildfires in grassland ecosystems and commercial grazing, annual controlled spring burning is widely practiced.

Landscapes
Perhaps the most spectacular vistas within the preserve are atop the long north/south ridge system. From these vantage points, a person can see great distances in all directions. With the exception of the development associated with Strong City, few human structures are visible from these lookout points. Communication towers are located southeast and southwest of the preserve and can be seen from some areas within the preserve. Depending on the season, a rolling sea of green or brown expands to the horizon. Here, people have an opportunity to ponder the past and reflect on the vastness that American Indians and early Euroamerican settlers encountered.

Night is a special time to experience the preserve and its vast expanse of sky. Although lights from events in Strong City are visible, on most clear nights the sky appears as a giant dome of black, studded with stars, unaffected by city lights.

Grazing
Grazers inhabiting the tallgrass prairie prior to European settlement included bison, elk, pronghorn antelope, white-tailed deer, mule deer, numerous species of small rodents, and invertebrate species. The extent to which large grazers used the prairie is unclear. The Flint Hills have been used intensively for cattle grazing since the early 1880s.

However, declining populations of some avian species such as the greater prairie chicken are in part due to the practice of annual spring burning and early intensive stocking, which reduces vegetative cover during the nesting season. Early work by Weaver also questioned the role of heavy grazing of tallgrass prairie, and suggested that it resulted in degraded range with low diversity.

Research is underway regarding whether bison and cattle grazing may differ in their effects on tallgrass prairie vegetation composition and biodiversity. Although both cattle and bison display generalist food habits, bison select almost exclusively grasses and may reduce the dominance of matrix grasses. Other behaviors, such as wallowing and the bison’s tendency to graze closer to the ground, may cause bison to differ from cattle in their effects on species richness and grassland biodiversity.

Large herbivores alter the abundance of various plant species through the selective removal of preferred forage species. Bison diets consist of up to 90 percent grasses, while cattle diets consist of about 70 percent grasses. Selective grazing of grasses releases forbs from competition pressure and increases plant species diversity.

Recently burned areas are often preferentially grazed by cattle or bison or both. Large grazers can trample vegetation and engage in wallowing, the impacts of which may persist for decades. Other groups of small herbivores, such as Geomys bursasrius (pocket gophers), provide establishment sites for plant species uncommon in undisturbed prairie, thus increasing diversity.

Vegetation
Survey notes from the 1850s describe areas of "nearly all prairie" and a "small quantity of timber on the creeks" in the region of the present day preserve. Recent attempts by Lauver to classify vegetation alliances and plant communities found eight plant community types occurring within the preserve. The preserve is dominated by the Andropogon gerdardii (big bluestem) – 
Sorgashastrum nutans

(Indian grass) – Schizachyrium scoparium (little bluestem) Flint Hills herbaceous vegetation community, or tallgrass prairie. Prairie is found on nearly level land as well as steep slopes on uplands and on a wide array of soils. Other community types such as the Bulrush- Spikerush Marsh and Limestone outcrops are very narrow and found in small patches.

The prairie vegetation, under the current grazing lease, is burned every spring, usually around March 20th ; it is grazed under a 35-year lease arrangement that began in 1995. The vegetation is subjected to an early intensive stocking regime, averaging two acres for a 550-pound steer for approximately 90-100 days between April 15th and July 31st . The cattle are then removed and the vegetation is allowed a period of regrowth until the next spring.

The floodplain forests along Fox and Palmer creeks are examples of the ash-elm- hackberry-burr oak-black walnut floodplain forest community. It is characterized by nearly level bottoms and terraces along major streams and rivers. This floodplain community has been called the rarest in the state because of the tendency, historically, to plow these deeper soils and to replace native vegetation with agricultural or grazing crops. The bottomland along Fox Creek is currently planted in brome grass. Cool season grasses like brome are usually grazed in the spring between March 16 and June 30 and again in the fall between about September 1 and December 31, or they are cut for hay.

The riparian forest along Fox Creek has been heavily used by livestock and shows signs of soil compaction, erosion, and loss of herbaceous species. Some row crops are planted in the southern area along Fox Creek under an annual lease arrangement with NPT. The floodplain vegetation along Palmer Creek appears to be diverse and healthy.

Dominant species, identified by the Kansas Biological Survey, are Andropogon gerdardii (big bluestem), Schizachyrium scoparium (little bluestem), Bouteloua curtipendula (sideoats grama), Amorpha canescens (leadplant), Sorgashastrum nutans (Indian grass), Buchloe dactyloides (buffalograss), Vernonia baldwinii (ironweed), Psoralea tenuiflora (wild alfalfa), and Bouteloua hirsuta (hairy grama). The relatively high cover of buffalograss and ironweed indicates that some areas of the preserve (ridgetops and creek floodplains) are prone to overgrazing.

Ecologically Critical Areas or Unique Natural Resources
The tallgrass prairie is the dominant vegetation community within the preserve and constitutes a unique resource on a national and global scale. This habitat is also listed as state prime habitat.

The many springs and seeps within the preserve, having associated free-flowing, intermittent, or perennial streams, are prime habitat within the state and considered crucial habitat "wherever they occur". Two perennial streams within the preserve form the habitat for the federally-listed endangered species, the Notropis topeka (Topeka shiner).

Streams and Creeks
The major aquatic resources within the preserve consist of Palmer Creek, a tributary to Fox Creek, located in the northern portion of the preserve and flowing west to east; and Fox Creek, a major tributary to the Cottonwood River, which bisects the preserve flowing north to south. Floodplains for these stream reaches have been digitized and mapped from the Federal Emergency Management Agencies Flood Insurance Rate Maps. Additional unnamed tributaries discharge into the Fox Creek.

Stock Ponds, Seeps, Springs
The presence of a federally-listed species, Notropis topeka

(Topeka shiner), in a tributary downstream from a pond has created concerns over the possibility of dam failure and the introduction of fish species from the pond which might impact that endangered species. However, the preserve lacks any water quality or biological data on species present within these ponds except for a survey for potential recreational fishery within ten ponds conducted by the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks. A recent inventory of the 26 dams provided physical data regarding the ponds, dimensions, and maximum capacity. While all were classified as having a "low" hazard potential, a number of dams were identified as being in need of corrective work to assure structural soundness. The preserve lacks long-term data sets on water quality, hydrology, and geomorphology.