American bison on the National Bison Range, Montana

The American Bison Society (ABS) was founded in 1905 to help save the bison from extinction and raise public awareness about the species by pioneering conservationists and sportsmen including

Ernest Harold Baynes Ernest Harold Baynes (1868–1925) was an American naturalist and writer. He was instrumental in bringing to public attention the near demise of songbirds and of the bison. He founded the American Bison Society, of which President Teddy Roosevelt ...

(the Society's first secretary), William T. Hornaday and

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

. Over 40 million

American bison The American bison (''Bison bison'') is a species of bison native to North America. Sometimes colloquially referred to as American buffalo or simply Bubalina, buffalo (a different clade of bovine), it is one of two extant species of bison, alongs ...

(''Bison bison'') once roamed the plains and grasslands from Mexico to central Canada, shaping the landscape with their migrations, grazing patterns, and behavior. By the 1870s, their populations had been decimated by westward expansion and over-hunting. An 1889 survey published by Hornaday, who would go on to become the first director of the

Bronx Zoo The Bronx Zoo (also historically the Bronx Zoological Park and the Bronx Zoological Gardens) is a zoo within Bronx Park in the Bronx, New York. It is one of the largest zoos in the United States by area and is the largest metropolitan zoo in ...

, showed that approximately 1,000 bison remained in North America.

History

The American Bison Society was formed to prevent the extinction of the American bison. In 1907, the ABS shipped 15 bison from the

to the

Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, located in southwestern Oklahoma near Lawton, has protected unique wildlife habitats since 1901 and is the oldest managed wildlife facility in the United States Fish and Wildlife Service system. The refuge's l ...

and Game Preserve in Oklahoma by cart and rail. This was the first

animal reintroduction Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and go through an ontogenetic stage in ...

in North America. In 1908, following successful petitioning by ABS, the US Congress passed a bill to establish a permanent

National Bison Range The Bison Range (BR) is a nature reserve on the Flathead Indian Reservation in western Montana established for the conservation of American bison. Formerly called the National Bison Range, the size of the bison herd at the BR is 350 adult bison ...

in Montana, provided that ABS raise the $10,000 needed to purchase the animals for the herd. They exceeded this fundraising goal, and in 1909, these animals were released on the new national range. In 1913, the

New York Zoological Society New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

(now the

Wildlife Conservation Society The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is a non-governmental organization headquartered at the Bronx Zoo in New York City, that aims to conserve the world's largest wild places in 14 priority regions. Founded in 1895 as the New York Zoological ...

), working with ABS, donated 14 bison to

Wind Cave National Park Wind Cave National Park is an American national park located north of the town of Hot Springs in western South Dakota. Established on January 3, 1903 by President Theodore Roosevelt, it was the sixth national park in the U.S. and the first ca ...

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, who comprise a large porti ...

, and ABS assisted in founding the herd at

Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge is located in the U.S. state of Nebraska and includes 19,131 acres (77.42 km2). The refuge borders the Niobrara National Scenic River on the west and is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ...

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

. Because of the secure populations of bison in these public herds, the ABS considered their work done, and the organization was disbanded in 1935. In 2005, the American Bison Society was re-launched by the

(WCS) to secure the ecological future of bison in North America. On August 12, 2010 National Geographic published a progress report on the Wood Bison Recovery Program at

Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center The Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center is a non-profit organization dedicated to conservation, research, education, and animal care. The center is located on about at the head of Turnagain Arm and the entrance to Portage Valley, Milepost 79 of ...

that is supported in part by WCS - North America.

References

External links

American Bison Society

WCS Institute’s ABS Web pages

Wildlife Conservation Society website

American Bison Society collection finding aid
Wildlife Conservation Society Archives {{authority control Animal conservation organizations Bison Wildlife conservation organizations Ecology organizations Nature conservation organizations based in the United States Environmental organizations based in the United States Great Plains Fauna of the Great Plains Environmental organizations established in 1905 Organizations disestablished in 1935 1905 establishments in the United States 1935 disestablishments in the United States Environmental organizations established in 2005 2005 establishments in the United States Wildlife Conservation Society

History

See also

References

External links