ecology

The first bouncing baby bison of the spring season arrived Tuesday morning at Fermilab.

Today is the official start of spring at Fermilab, with the arrival of the first bison calf to the lab’s beloved American bison herd.

Since its inception 50 years ago, the prairie restoration success at Fermilab has become a living laboratory — supporting scientific research, fostering biodiversity and providing essential ecosystem services like erosion control and enhanced soil health.

The first two baby bison were born April 21 at Fermilab, welcoming the start of spring.

Fermilab welcomed two baby bison today, marking the start of calving season at the Department of Energy’s particle physics laboratory in Batavia, Illinois. With 23 cows and two bulls in the herd, visitors can witness these iconic animals in their natural habitat, either in person or via the Fermilab bison camera.

Fermilab Natural Areas received a $12,000 grant through DuPage Foundation’s Community Impact grant program support for the restoration of the Sparrow Hedge Shrublands.

Naperville News 17 reports on the new baby bison that arrived this spring at Fermilab. Just outside of Naperville, Fermilab has a growing herd of over 40 bison and two bulls that roam the campus’ prairie land.

Spring brings new life to Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory as calving season begins for the lab’s herd of American bison. Today, two bison calves were born at Fermilab. The lab has a long tradition of providing habitat for bison, connecting particle physics research to the Midwestern prairie. This season, 20 baby bison are expected.

The Fermilab Natural Areas was one of three organizations who were recently recognized for their outstanding contributions to pollinator conservation. FNA received the Pat Miller Community Engagement Award for their comprehensive outreach and public engagement about ecology, native plants and land stewardship.

The Bird Conservation Network recently shared its findings from 22 years of surveying bird populations throughout the Chicago area and compared their data to Fermilab’s decades-long bird monitoring data.