This week, I took our new Hubbard Fellows on their first visit to the Niobrara Valley Preserve. Early March is not usually the prime time to showcase a prairie-dominated site, but the Niobrara Valley Preserve has enough charisma to impress even during its dull brown phase. Ashley and Dat seemed to enjoy their first trip, and it won’t be long before they visit again.

We traveled up on Monday and spent the late afternoon and evening touring around. In just a few hours, we got to see several groups of bison, a very quiet prairie dog town, meadowlarks and horned larks, sharp-tailed grouse, miles of prairie in all directions, and the always gorgeous Niobrara River valley. By our next visit, we should be able to see pasque flowers and a little more green popping up here and there. Here are a few photos from this week’s trip.