American Bison: From Near Extinction to National Emblem

the American Bison is making a powerful return thanks to decades of conservation work

Picture a large bison stampede late into the night that leaves a swathe of ground unearthed. The next day, a group of Lakota warriors and a white man follow the tracks to gain a better vantage point to see the number of bison. Upon reaching the summit, they are taken aback as there are bison as far as the eye can see - a sight unheard of by modern standards. The men quietly back off and prepare for the hunt through the painting of their horses, tribal dances and chants, and prayers from other members of the tribe. Riding off on their horses, the Lakota warriors split into two groups with the white man pairing off on the near side as the bison noticed their presence and started to run in the opposite direction. Thunder fills the air from hooves striking the ground. Bison fall to the earth as they are pierced with arrows, spears, and the occasional bullet.

The hunt was over almost as soon as it began with enough animals harvested that would feed, clothe, and serve the rest of the tribe in multiple ways. This accurate portrayal of a Native American bison hunt is from the film titled Dances with Wolves, directed by Kevin Costner, and it served as my introduction to the heralded beauty that is the American Bison. 

Europeans first encountered bison in 1521, when Hernán Cortés and his forces made their way to Anahuac, also known as the Valley of Mexico. The description of the animal, transcribed by historian Antonio de Solis Ribadeneyra and later in The Extermination of the American Bison by William T. Hornaday, goes as follows: 

“In the second Square of the same House were the Wild Beasts, which were either presents to Montezuma, or taken by his Hunters, in strong Cages of Timber, rang'd in good Order, and under Cover: Lions, Tygers, Bears, and all others of the savage Kind which New-Spain produced; among which the greatest Rarity was the Mexican Bull; a wonderful composition of divers Animals. It has crooked Shoulders, with a Bunch on its Back like a Camel; its Flanks dry, its Tail large, and its Neck cover'd with Hair like a Lion. It is cloven footed, its Head armed like that of a Bull, which it resembles in Fierceness, with no less strength and Agility." Such detailed writings of the animal became more prevalent over the next three hundred years as Europeans started to make their way to the Americas in their search for conquest and exploration.

At the turn of the 19th century, bison were becoming a geopolitical force that would soon be exploited by the United States government in their quest to control the land west of the Mississippi River. The buffalo, in Native American terminology, was a sacred part of their lifestyle, heritage, and spiritual reverence. Indigenous people of the Great Plains followed the buffalo as they traversed the land, utilizing many parts of the animal in their everyday life. Hides, split between tanned hides and rawhides, were used for clothing, headdresses, medicine bags, and shelter; bones for arrowheads, knives, and shovels; animal fat for soap and cooking oil. This spiritual circle of life essence is how the people of the Cheyenne, Kiowa, Lakota, and Sioux, to name a few, lived with the land.

Unfortunately this reliance on the bison by the Native American tribes is one of the many factors that led to the “Great Buffalo Slaughter,” as it was later coined. With the rapid westward expansion by European settlers and a thriving international market for buffalo hides, the United States government employed a strategy to effectively starve the Indigenous people by decimating the bison population and eliminating their foundational economies, which were dependent on the buffalo. Introducing cattle and horses to the grazing population of the prairie land added competition for the bison and the systematic killing of the buffalo for sport from railroad cars was justified through the numerous animal crossings that held up commerce transportation. 

By the 1860s, the bison population east of the Mississippi River was nonexistent, and to the west of the Mississippi, there was a noticeable decline in the overall population. Lacking any considerable federal conservation effort, the slaughter continued to happen while American private citizens began to round up buffalo in a manner to preserve the species from extinction. The buffalo that were being collected during this time period were just the beginning of a long, hard journey that is continuing to this day. 

Numerous bills were introduced, printed, and read before Congress during the 1870s, but none would be passed or acted on. The creation of Yellowstone National Park in 1872 ensured land for the bison that would not be developed. However, poaching in the park was not prevented or stopped until the introduction of the Lacey Act of 1894, which prohibited hunting in Yellowstone and established guidelines for the use and purpose of national parks. As for the bison, their numbers still dwindled. This would set the precedent for Theodore Roosevelt’s second presidential term where he would unleash a flurry of conservation initiatives to protect parts of the United States from development and habitat destruction.

Eighteen years before he became president of the United States, Roosevelt went on a buffalo hunt in 1883. On this trip to Montana, it took him nine days to find a buffalo to kill as their numbers were few and far between. A few years later in 1886, Hornaday, chief taxidermist of the Smithsonian Institution, had his own task to collect specimens to display when their inevitable extinction took place. He was able to bring back several live bison to the New York Zoological Park that would soon serve in the reintroduction process.

Three years after Hornaday made his trip out west, Roosevelt undertook his second hunt for the largest mammal in North America, but this time his reaction was more somber and it showed in his reflections, “So for several minutes I watched the great beasts as they grazed...mixed with the eager excitement of the hunter was a certain half-melancholy feeling as I gazed on these bison, themselves part of the last remnant of a doomed and nearly vanished race. Few indeed are the men who now have or evermore shall have, the chance of seeing the mightiest of American beasts, in all his wild vigor, surrounded by the tremendous desolation of his far-off mountain home.”

Both of these trips had a profound effect on these men, and they would both soon dedicate their life to conservation and preserving the buffalo. When Roosevelt took office in 1901, there were approximately 700 animals in private herds and twenty-three left in the Yellowstone herd. 

Photo from 1907 "American Bison Society" annual report

Hornaday, Roosevelt, and twelve other members would form the American Bison Society (ABS) in 1905 to preserve the species as a whole and raise public awareness. Through the efforts made by the ABS, bison herds were established in Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge, the National Bison Range, Sully’s Hill National Game Preserve, Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge, and Wind Cave National Park. By 1919, there were nine separate herds, with approximately 12,500 head of bison amongst them, that had been established across the nation. 

Keystone species are the hallmark of ecosystems and the American Bison remains the standard for the Great Plains and much of North America, albeit it now ranges over only 1% of its former habitat. From the eastern seaboard to Northern California and Oregon, the Northwest Territories of Canada and Alaska down to North-Central Mexico, this animal historically covered a vast stretch of land. It shaped the country from an ecological standpoint through the aeration of the soil from traveling long distances, speed dispersal through their natural fertilizer, and the grazing of the different prairie grasses in order to keep them in check to allow for other plants to thrive amidst the biodiversity. 

With the bison population growing in strength, the number is exceeding 500,000. However, the majority of the population is on private ranches, and roughly 30,000 animals are managed on public and tribal lands. Two initiatives were announced by the Department of Interior in recent years—in 2023, a $25 million investment into bison restoration throughout the country with Native American involvement, and in 2024, when the Trilateral Committee for Wildlife and Ecosystem Conservation and Management, composed of the United States, Canada, and Mexico, met in Los Angeles to provide new collaboration efforts for bison conservation across the three nations. “While the overall recovery of bison over the last 130 years is a conservation success story, significant work remains to ensure that bison will remain a viable species,” said Secretary Deb Haaland. “Our collaborative efforts with Canada and Mexico are an important step forward as we work to restore this majestic species and facilitate the return of bison to Tribally owned and ancestral lands.”

Bison lived in tandem with nature and the Native American tribes before European settlers made their appearance on the North American continent. This living, breathing symbol of the untamed West once numbered in the millions. It was driven to near extinction and has now been brought back to a growing, healthy population throughout the country. There is now more hope than ever for the future of the American Bison. 

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About the Author

Based in Middle Georgia, Hayden Martin is an adaptive creative and storyteller who invites people from all walks of life to immerse themselves in the outdoors. He thrives most when building lasting relationships in the duck blind, capturing meaningful experiences through a lens, and contributing to the outdoors lifestyle through written expression. Hayden has worked in live entertainment, sports journalism, and outdoor media industries; his creative work can be found in both digital and print publications including Wildfowl Magazine, Split Reed, Palomino County, and Houston Home Journal.