(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- The Kane County Forest Preserves are bringing back some native inhabitants of the land -- ones that lived there long before there was something called a forest preserve.
Kane County has been preparing a space for a small herd of American bison.
Ben Haberthur, executive director of the Kane County Forest Preserves, said the spot is ready.
"We have about a 12-year-old prairie restoration that we'll be locating them on. All the plants there were restored after it was farmed for 100 years,” he said. "But it's now a pretty mature, grass-dominated prairie, which is perfect forage for bison."
The next project is building a fence around 60 acres to accommodate as many as 15 of the bison, the largest mammal in North America.
Haberthur said Kane County could have a herd of bison as early as spring.
“I just see it as our responsibility as a people who removed them off the landscape to figure out if we can put them back on,” he said. “And if we're going to do that, to not do it as a novelty, but figure out how to best do that responsibly for the land and the people."
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