It wasn’t difficult to imagine bison grazing the land at Boch Hollow State Nature Preserve as I walked through a patch of Running Buffalo Clover that to the casual observer would look like, well, “just clover”. However, a lot of effort has gone into preservation of the species, including ways to replace the long lost bison by using machinery to add the disturbance needed for the plant to thrive. Not too much, but also not too little. Sort of like a Goldilocks and the Three Bears scenario.

The comeback of the clover is a bona fide success story from everything I’ve been reading. On my visit on May 25, there were thousands of plants to be seen! At one point the plant was on the federal endangered species list but was removed on September 7, 2021. However, the plant is still on the Ohio Rare Plant list.

Visiting the site also brought back my memories as a child of weaving necklaces from pieces of clover commonly found in many yards. I loved to wear them or make them for others.