The Big Picture

The plains bison represents the free and open spirit of the western prairie. Once described as “innumerable” by early 18th century European explorers, this valuable species is now ecologically extinct and its wild bison genome threatened with erosion.  While some 20 to 60 million bison once roamed the Great Plains, there are only an estimated 500,000 bison in North America today and of these less than four percent (about 19,000 bison) live in conservation herds. Today no herd on the Great Plains is free ranging, and the majority of these conservation groups are not managed to preserve genetic elements over time. Further exacerbating the issue, bison were crossbred with cattle at the turn of the century in the hopes of mixing cattle domesticity with bison hardiness; of the 500,000 bison alive today, fewer than 7,000 are non-hybridized.

Progress to Date

On a cold and rainy night, not long past midnight on October 20, 2005, 16 bison stepped back onto the Montana prairie after an absence of over 120 years. APF and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) staff watched as the bison began to graze in the holding pasture, acclimating to their new home before being turned out onto American Prairie Reserve.  Several of these bison were pregnant cows.  After much anxious waiting and phone calling, the APF reserve manager was proud to report the births of five baby bison on the Reserve in April 2006.

Since the spring of 2006, the herd has continued to grow with two groups of new arrivals, in October 2006 and October 2007, from Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota.  Additionally calves were born on American Prairie Reserve in the spring of 2007 and 2008.  Our herd currently totals 76 healthy bison. One bull will leave the herd this fall because of his successful breeding record and favorable genetic profile. As part of APF’s desire to make a positive contribution to bison restoration efforts across the country, this bull will join a conservation herd in the Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge in Nebraska.

APF and WWF are now working to ensure the new herd is healthy and adequately maintained.  Data are regularly collected to guide herd management and future restoration work.  To lead this effort, APF and WWF have developed a comprehensive, peer-reviewed reintroduction plan.  In addition, APF and WWF have assembled a panel of advisors that include many of the most highly regarded scientists and bison managers in the country.  APF is also working with neighboring ranches to develop a mutual understanding of management goals. 

Next Steps

APF and WWF will continue trans-locating bison to the Reserve from selected sites over the next few years.  This past summer we built nearly 18 miles of electrified bison fencing expanding our 2,600-acre bison range to 13,000 acres.  We continue to remove old barbed-wire fence and construct new fences designed specifically to manage bison and allow for the free movement of wildlife.  WWF will also continue to monitor the herd and the land’s health and vitality.

Check out the American Prairie Reserve bison at:

http://gallery.me.com/apfgallery#100091