Exposed limestone formations make cultivation difficult, and thus the Flint Hills have survived much as they were when they were a hunting ground for area tribes such as the Wichita, Osage, and Kaw.

The eastern portion of the preserve is in the Cross Timbers, a north-south running belt of tangled oak forests that were a major impediment to early travelers heading west.

[3] About 10 percent of the preserve is forested and the remainder is tallgrass prairie; the grasses of several species here can grow 10 feet (3 m) tall.

The Native Americans were aware of this and burned the prairie regularly to nurture new growth of succulent grasses and to kill invasive trees and shrubs.

[5] This process has proven beneficial not only in providing grazing for bison and cattle, but also for the habitat of the threatened greater prairie chickens, which also inhabit the preserve in small numbers.

But they were subject to harassment, manipulation, fraud and murder in what was known as a 'Reign of Terror' as whites tried to gain control of family members' headrights.

Males congregate in leks in large numbers in the spring months (April–May) to produce loud choruses from calling burrows to attract flying females.

In the summer months, the preserve serves as habitat for the endangered American burying beetle (Nicrophorus americanus), which plays an important role in nutrient cycling.

His son, also a rodeo champion, was Ben Johnson Jr., an actor who appeared in more than 300 movies and won an Oscar for his role in The Last Picture Show.

Scenic turnouts along the roads provide broad vistas of the rolling prairie, emerald green in spring, tall and brown in fall, and dotted with wildflowers in the summer.

About 2014 the Nature Conservancy of Oklahoma bought the plot including his cabin and gravesite, and have added it to the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve.