36 Nebraskaland • January-February 2020
he plains bison has earned its standing as an iconic
large animal of the American prairie. That status was
reinforced a few years ago when the bison was named
the national mammal of the United States. Bison
capture the imagination of people like few other grassland
animals, but there are not many places where you can still
fi nd them within big prairie landscapes.
Before European Settlement
Everyone has heard stories about the masses of bison
roaming across the Plains prior to European settlement.
Estimating the historic size of the North American bison
population is diffi cult and much disputed. Many estimates
put the herd size at between 30 and 60 million animals prior
to the year 1600. Bison then expanded their range for a
few centuries, as Native American peoples were decimated
by disease and subjugation by Europeans. By the 1890s,
however, widespread European settlement and excessive
harvesting had nearly obliterated bison as a species, leaving
only about 1,000 animals.
During that same period, a few people began eff orts to
save what was left of the bison population. Some wanted to
crossbreed bison with cattle (leading to very small amounts
of cattle genetics in many of today's bison) while others were
strictly focused on conservation. According to the National
The Soul of the Prairie
What does a scarcity of bison mean for Nebraska's grasslands?
T
A small group of bison grazes in the northern Sandhills at The Nature Conservancy's Niobrara Valley Preserve.
STORY AND PHOTOS BY CHRIS HELZER
