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Bison Graze
Photograph by Thomas J. Abercrombie
Bison graze lazily under a powder-blue North Dakota sky. Bison were critical to the lives of the Great Plains Indian tribes, who made use of every part of these animals.
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Aerial Clark Salyer Refuge
Photograph by James P. Blair
An aerial view shows the J. Clark Salyer National Wildlife Refuge wedged between the grain fields of North Dakota. This area is one of the most productive breeding grounds for migratory waterfowl in the United States.
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Thunder Basin, Wyoming
Photograph by James P. Blair
This area of Wyoming was once strip-mined for coal. By law though, the mining company must take steps to restore the land to its natural state. The grass comes back quickly, but wildlife takes longer.
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Winter Prairie Pasture
Photograph by Annie Griffiths Belt
Ranchers herd cattle across the shortgrass prairie of Montana on their way to winter pasturelands. Much of North America's prairie lands have been converted to cattle pastures.
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Snow Prairie Fence
Photograph by Tom Murphy
An old rail fence running through snow-covered prairie. Much of the U.S. prairie lands have been developed or converted to agricultural purposes.
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Clouds Over Wyoming Prairie
Photograph by John Eastcott & Yva Momatiuk
Thin clouds drift above the gentle contours of the Wyoming prairie lands.
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Amber Waves of Grain
Photograph by Richard Olsenius
Amber grasses wave their dark-colored seed heads on Montana's Front Range with the shadow of the Rocky Mountains in the background.
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Coreopsis Wildflowers
Photograph by Joel Sartore
Coreopsis wildflowers bloom on the Texas coastal prairie. Much of the U.S. prairie lands have been developed or converted to agricultural purposes, leaving only a few state and national parks as a reminder of their wild, wide-open past.
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Nebraska Prairie Bison
Photograph by Joel Sartore
Bison graze amid deciduous trees where prairie meets forest in Nebraska's Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge. This unique area has distinct sections of forest, prairie, and desert all within a relatively small area.
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Wisp Grass Badlands
Photograph by Raymond K. Gehman
Wisp grass seedpods sway in the wind in South Dakota's Badlands National Park. Fifty-six different grass species are found in Badlands.
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Spider Lilies, Texas
Photograph by Raymond K. Gehman
Spider lilies grow among sedges and rushes in the coastal prairie land of Texas' Brazos Bend State Park. Trees are sparse on grasslands due to seasonal floods and droughts, heavy grazing, and fires.
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