Payne and I meet in downtown Pawhuska, population about 3,500, the preserve’s gateway town—and one aspect of the prairie experience that has changed dramatically since my first visit. Cooking ...

The cover of "Sea of Grass" and authors Dave Hage and Josephine Marcotty. (Courtesy of Penguin Random House and Chris Bentley/Here & Now) The North American prairie rivals the Amazon rainforest in ...

Waist-high bluestem grass sways in the wind across 922 acres that stretch out before him. The air is filled with “dick-dick-see-see-see,” the song that gives the dickcissel prairie bird its name.

The gently rounded hills roll like ocean swells—nothing but amber grass and prairie flowers to the edge of the sky. To the west, a lone bison grazes in a creek draw.

The gently rounded hills roll like ocean swells—nothing but amber grass and prairie flowers to the edge of the sky. To the west, a lone bison grazes in a creek draw.