Bison Reclaim, Restore their Natural Range
Bison once thundered across the North American plains by the millions. But they were hunted to near extinction in the 19th century for their hides.
Today, their numbers are growing again, thanks in part to the important role they can play in land restoration.
This spring, a dozen or more fuzzy bison calves, notable for their orange hue and tiny stature, will gambol across the Kankakee Sands Nature Reserve.
That’s good news, says Ted Anchor, the program manager for this Nature Conservancy project, because they are responsible for fixing a very old problem: more than 100 years of environmental damage.
The Indiana Chapter of the Nature Conservancy has been working for 20 years to restore the prairie at Kankakee Sands. Late last year, they took the final step, bringing in 23 bison, including 16 pregnant cows.
"Bison are a really easy way to get short grass prairie," Anchor explains. "Just by living and doing what bison do which is eat grasses and make little bison, they create the short grass prairie for us."
While farmed bison are raised for meat, these animals exist solely for environmental management. In addition to grazing on prairie grasses, which allows wildflowers to grow and provides habitat for rare birds, the bison wallow. The depressions they create fill with rainwater, which attracts amphibians and other small animals.
The animals are also a tourist attraction, bringing new sources of revenue to the community. Some visitors return again and again.
