Life With Ferris: The Bells Are Doing Their Part To Protect A Rare Savannah

As a general rule, Mitchell Bell tends to stay under the radar. He and his wife, Hazel, spend much of their time in Geiger, Al., managing Sumter Farms & Wild Horse Prairie in Sumter County. They manage 11,000 acres that provide for cattle, timber production, hunting and a multitude of critters and their specific homes.

A few years ago, Mitchell and Hazel noticed that 85 of those acres looked different than the rest, and they wondered if they were the remnants of a savannah. Dewayne Estes, also known as Preacher of the Prairie, of the Southeastern Grasslands Initiative, verified their finding.

Dr. Estes says that grassland loss is the single greatest conservation issue currently facing eastern North American biodiversity. “Our precious Southern grasslands are nearly extinct and the species that depend on them are fading fast. Many of our Southern grasslands that managed to persist through the past 200 years have disappeared in the past quarter-century. What will the next 25 years bring? As a conservation community, we are only now realizing how extensive our grasslands used to be. The losses have been truly staggering,” he said. Many of these creatures that need grasslands to survive are endangered and on the brink of extinction because their homes are specific and are being destroyed.

The Bells are doing their part to protect the rare savannah on their property and monitor the flora and fauna regularly. And as they do this, they are discovering many native plants that they never noticed before are thriving.

At the end of the summer, Mitchell and Hazel Bell were presented the Land Conservationist of the Year Award at the 2024 Alabama Wildlife Federation Governor’s Conservation Achievement Awards banquet co-sponsored by Alabama Power Company and PowerSouth Energy. Governor Kay Ivey provided opening remarks and assisted with the awards presentation.

The AWF Governor’s Conservation Achievement Awards are the most respected conservation honors in the state of Alabama. Over the past 50 years, AWF has presented these awards to individuals and organizations that make great contributions to the conservation of Alabama’s wildlife and related natural resources.

This diverse property contains oak-hickory savannahs, loblolly pine plantations, natural loblolly stands, pine-hardwoods, and greentree reservoirs that are well managed for wildlife and wildlife habitat. The property is also known for multiple black belt prairies that are managed with prescribed fire. The renowned “Wild Horse Prairie” at Sumter Farms has a prescribed fire history that spans over 80 years.

Mitchell and Hazel take seriously their land stewardship responsibilities for this unique property. They have worked with the Alabama Wildlife Federation, the Southeast Grasslands Initiative, the Mississippi Entomological Museum, the University of West Alabama Herbarium, Auburn University, and the Alabama Natural Heritage Program on biological surveys related to birds, arthropods, plants, and pollinators.

And important and remarkable things are happening as a result. For example, Alabama’s 100th crayfish species was discovered on this property a couple of years ago. A few years earlier, a plant species new to science was also found on the property. Dr. Estes says that without the stewardship commitment of Mitchell and Hazel Bell, these unique stories would not exist.

Follow wildhorseprarie on Instagram and learn more.

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Ferris Robinson is the author of three children’s books, “The Queen Who Banished Bugs,” “The Queen Who Accidentally Banished Birds,” and “Call Me Arthropod” in her pollinator series “If Bugs Are Banished.” “Making Arrangements” is her first novel. “Dogs and Love - Stories of Fidelity” is a collection of true tales about man’s best friend. She is the editor of The Lookout Mountain Mirror and The Signal Mountain Mirror.