Bison Restoration: Conservation and Welfare on the Plains

American bison were nearly extirpated in the 19th century. Restoration efforts have succeeded in establishing free-roaming herds, but most bison live in commercial or conservation herds with management challenges.

Key Facts

Plains bison numbered an estimated 30-60 million before European settlement; by 1890 fewer than 1,000 survived.
Today approximately 500,000 bison exist in North America, but fewer than 30,000 are conservation herds free from cattle hybridization.
Bison can travel 30-50 km per day and require large landscapes for natural grazing behavior.
Conservation herds at American Prairie Reserve and elsewhere are managed with minimal intervention to restore natural behavior.
Bison culling is necessary to manage conservation herd sizes when landscape area limits carrying capacity.

Welfare Considerations

Bison in small managed herds face welfare constraints from limited space, genetic management interventions, and culling operations. Commercial bison raised for meat face similar welfare challenges to cattle in intensive systems. Conservation bison on large reserves face fewer welfare compromises and benefit from near-natural social and movement patterns. The ecological and welfare value of truly wild, free-roaming bison populations justifies significant investment in landscape-scale conservation even at the cost of some individual welfare interventions during management.

What You Can Do

Support American Prairie Reserve and other landscape-scale bison restoration programs.
Choose bison meat from verified conservation herds rather than commercial intensive operations.
Advocate for bison restoration on public lands in the American West.
Visit national parks and reserves where bison roam to understand their ecological role.
Follow the Wildlife Conservation Society bison program for conservation updates.