How Bison Are Saving America's Lost Prairie

PBS Member Stations rely on viewers like you. To support your local station, go to: to.pbs.org/DonateTerra.
↓ More info below ↓
American prairies were once home to as many as 60 million bison. But when ranching and agriculture displaced elk and bison from the prairies, America’s grasslands all but disappeared. Now, the Nature Conservancy manages the largest remaining protected tract of tallgrass prairie in the entire world, the Joseph H. Williams Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in northeastern Oklahoma.
This 40,000-acre expanse is much more than grass. It is a biologically rich habitat that harbors a diverse collection of plant and animal species-more than 750 species of flora and 80 different mammals. This prairie is also a vital component in nature’s fight against climate change. The key to keeping the prairie healthy? Bison.
The Nature Conservancy reintroduced 300 bison to this prairie in 1993, and the herd has grown to more than 2,000 animals today. They graze on the majority of the preserve, playing an important part in enhancing the prairies. Combined with a method of land management known as patch burning-preserve managers torch about a third of the acreage every spring, summer, and fall, mimicking ancient seasons of fire-the tallgrass prairie is thriving.
Subscribe to PBS Terra! - bit.ly/3mOfd77
**********************************************
Hosted by Joe Hanson from It's Okay to be Smart, Overview uses incredible 4k drone footage to reveal the natural phenomena shaping our planet from a 10,000-foot view-literally.

[@pratfallpratt8998]

I live in Kansas, in college one of my professors owned a ranch and his son started a small B&B business on it. They did trail rides and such with guests through their land, and every time they had a guest from Japan (or sometimes southeast Asia) they would almost always cry at some point in the ride because they were just so overwhelmed by seeing that much open land. I guess the vastness of it can be a lot if you're not used to it. One retired businessman actually had a full blown panic attack and had to be rushed back to the house bc he hyperventilated so badly. My professor said after the guest finally calmed down he kept saying he felt like the land was going to swallow him and he'd never find his way back home.

[@montrichins6040]

Had similar experiences multiple times taking guests from Japan to my Dad’s B&B in western Wyoming. All the open space would make them get emotional. Gave me a better appreciation

[@aryaaswale7316]

It is really something for people from Asia to see so much openness the dense population and really the absence of large plains at all means they've never seen or experienced this

[@erwinl.8152]

I had a feeling like that when I went to Barrow Alaska. Felt like the sky was pushing down on me.

[@waltergolston6187]

During WW2 the German soldiers had the same problem of openness once in Russia proper

[@xAngelsOfHellx]

That fear he described is a very real and appropriate feeling. If you were to go back in time to when the prairies were untouched, be placed in the middle of it all and try to find shelter/food/rescue... Oh boy haha Kinda like the myth of the Wendigo

[@sinistral9629]

Here in the UK, where bison have been extinct for thousands of years, a few European Bison have been recently reintroduced to a nature preserve in SE England. Like the bison in Oklahoma, the British bison will help restore ecosystems' lost diversity. Being ecosystem engineers, they will shape the environment by invigorating natural processes to create bio-abundance. Apart from grazing grass, the bison will create openings in woodlands by knocking down small trees, interspersing the habitat with open, light-flooded patches. These patches of sunlight can ultimately allow a wider array of plants and animals to flourish. The reintroduction of bison is part of a wider project of rewilding in the UK, which plans to reintroduce more once-native species to protected areas. In the future, wolves and lynxes may once again roam free in the British landscape. A wonderful prospect!

[@jonathanroberts727]

Except the European bison is not native to United Kingdom.

[@jonathanroberts727]

All the bison that originally lived in Britain are extinct.

[@sinistral9629]

@@jonathanroberts727 True. For the sake of accuracy, I should not have used the term "reintroduced" when referring to the European bison (Wisent).

[@sinistral9629]

@@jonathanroberts727 Again, true. Thank you for setting the record straight in case there was anyone misled by my original comment.

[@jonathanroberts727]

@@sinistral9629 your welcome.

[@JerzyFeliksKlein]

In Europe the center for Bison preservation is actually Poland where the animal has almost a sacred status. We orchestrate and manage the reintroduction across the entire continent. Because they were near extinction and they come from a very small gene pool we keep track of a DNA of every single European bison. They really are majestic creatures. In Europe, obviously we don't have the plains North America has, so the bison lives mostly in the forest. Fun fact - their horns are as wide as the widest part of their body so when strolling through a forest a bison will measure the distance between two trees with his horns to check whether he can pass through.

[@deinsilverdrac8695]

Well small mistake from that management was to have a fixation on separating the few remaining bison because one linneage had ancestry from an ecotype. To keep gene pool purity over gene pool health. That aggravated the inbreeding and lack of of genetic diversity of the bison. Some even advocate that we breed some american wood bison for genetic diversity and then breed out every individual with physical and behavioural trait of wood bison. They're both the same specie now. And european bison would greatly benefit from that.

[@nichochan8681]

They're doing exactly what's recommended for the reversal of desertification, which I honestly find more terrifying than climate change. It makes me happy they're doing this.

[@smygskytt1712]

Desertification is a product of climate change through. As the temperature rises and percipitation remains steady, of even worse - decreases, the grass cover recedes and the desert advances.

[@nichochan8681]

@@smygskytt1712 Wrong, it's habit destruction through deforestation and pollution. By going ahead and fucking with every stage of the food chain from the microbiology in the soil and waters to it's top predators we have scarred the land and are choking it's waters. No in way in Hell is that climate change. Especially after a multitude of environmental disasters from radioactive waste, chemicals, plastics, sewage, fuels, and adding that we've been doing this since the industrial revolution climate change is not a worry that concerns me in my lifetime. The fact is is that we need to educate people about ecological structure and it's importance. Oh yeah not to mention we've hunted a bunch of things to extinction on top of all the habitat destruction.

[@Erin-rg3dw]

There's a video somewhere, I want to say it's along the desert in China, of a village being swallowed up by the sand and a housewife throwing the sand off her porch. The desert is encroaching on an actively-inhabited town and they have to shovel sand off their homes to keep it back. Crazy.

[@nichochan8681]

@@Erin-rg3dw Sounds like the dust bowl.

[@Erin-rg3dw]

@@nichochan8681 Pretty much the same. The Dust Bowl was caused by a combination of low rainfall and lack of wind block, i.e. trees. Farmers had been smoothing the land making it easier to work on, but then there was nothing to hold the soil (that was already dry), slow the wind, or help encourage rain. My memory may be off, but I think the lessons from the Dust Bowl farming problems were then used in other countries. People have been cleaning land like that for centuries and the Dust Bowl was the catastrophe that got then to stop.

[@vfmc77]

This is what we need right now. Science, ecology, agriculture and respect for the animal.

[@kfl611]

and respect for the earth.

[@FT-jh2pu]

perfect comment.

[@tinapaxton685]

I love to see this I'm glad to see that the bison are being returned to the land that they once roamed over there also is a battle going on to keep wild horses and I hope that this will inspire people to look up what the groups that are wild horse advocates such as Wild Horse Education and the American Wild Horse Campaign are doing to stop the Bureau of Land Management from sending our wild horses and Utah Nevada Colorado Oregon California and other states to Extinction for the cattle ranchers who wish to continue putting thousands of cattle on public lands our public lands are being destroyed by overgrazing by cattle and sheep and the horses are being blamed for it we need to understand that it has been proven that the wild horses are a native species a recent paper done by a college student has proven that these horses have been here all along and we need people to get involved and speak up to stop the BLM and their helicopter roundups and Slaughter of our wild horses and I hope that we can do this same thing the wild horses that they are doing for the Bison

[@thuringervonsausage5232]

& Eat Them

[@thuringervonsausage5232]

@@tinapaxton685 Wild Horses? you mean the Domestic Tramps that are ruining the SW from over breeding & Over Grazing. You have everything Backwards. Cattle on Public Lands pay a fee & they are monitored for Over Grazing. BLM is doing a good job getting rid of the horses

[@navajoguy8102]

2,000, for reference there used to be millions of bison roaming the Great Plains. On the Flathead Reservation I used to see them on the horizon just grazing. My mom's tribe says they're very sacred. It'd be wonderous to see them roaming freely again.

[@ronniebishop2496]

I came up over a hill one day near Blanchard Oklahoma and saw a bunch of animals grazing and didn’t know what they were for a few minutes, it was Buffalo and it really was a strange sacred experience. I don’t know why. They looked totally different than in the movies.

[@wyominghome4857]

530,000 bison in North America today from Alaska into Mexico, with about 15,000 being free-range. Huge herds in the State/National parks and preserves. Beautiful animals, but unpredictable and bad-tempered. Tourists need to keep a respectful distance but too often don't.

[@ashurean]

I'd like to see us, as a civilization, undo the destruction we've done worldwide and learn to use more efficient, smaller scale means of maintaining what we have to limit our impact going forwards.

[@ronniebishop2496]

Asher Pfanku Meeee tooo.

[@colbyzur4642]

@@ashurean I think America gets a little bit too much hate regarding this considering how much as a country we’ve actually done over time to restore our past mistakes compared to other countries, granted we still have A LOT to work on but we’re actually doing better than a lot of other countries of similar size

[@henboker3]

This the most encouraging bit of news I've seen in years; I've been fighting discouragement, depression and anger with freeloading, lying politicians, and the constant abuse of God's gift of mother earth to this country. I love this, guys [have belonged to Nature Conservancy for years.].

[@OMGWUNSIU]

I know how you feel…

[@alfonsomunoz4424]

There are reasons to be positive Larry. Sometimes they can be hard to come by, but they're out there. Cheer up friend.

[@artosbear]

Bro it was genocide

[@carolannhook554]

It's amazing to hear about the biodiversity in the prairie. I remember, growing up in the 80s and 90s, always hearing about how we can't destroy the rainforests because we need to protect the biodiversity. I wonder, now, why the US didn't have a similar attitude toward our own ecosystems. Did we really not understand the complex, beautiful systems that were right here in our own country or was there something a little more sinister, like hiding that info to allow the massive farming operations?

[@jasonreed7522]

I think it most accurate to say that as a culture we really just didn't care about the environment until around the 1960s. Sure there are tons of examples of preservation efforts before then, but for a long time the general public wanted the wilderness tamed and plowed and all the wolves and bears killed.

[@micah_lee]

Not true. How do you explain massive native american cultures existing with intact native ecosystems for thousands of years? Surely you have have both fed people and protected environment. They aren’t opposites of each other.

[@codymoe4986]

That's like me asking the same thing about Europeans...why didn't they have the foresight to not industrialize the majority of their continent, to remove the wilderness and "biodiversity"?... Guessing for the same reasons their descendants attempted to do the same in the New World... P.S. Weren't some the first national parks and publicly accessed nature preserves established in the US? Just saying...it would appear we are learning from past mistakes, slowly, but surely...

[@joshrstanford]

We pretty much only did it to eliminate native food sources for plains tribes …

[@angelawarren2567]

The organic care, others do not have the capacity to relate, period.

[@soldiercreekbison]

Just a little over a year ago we took the plunge and moved to the Tall Grass Prarie in Kansas to raise Bison. It's been quite the adventure and we learn something new everyday whether we wanted to or not. This video felt like being on the ranch. Nice work!

[@vitaly6312]

That’s Awesome! I likely live really close to where your ranch is. I’ll keep an eye out for your YT page.

[@clintwestwood1895]

Bless you. I wish I could do that.

[@Suchapill]

Soldier, what part of Yellowstone do the Bison go to at night to warm up? Hot springs?

[@amyp.575]

I hope you included the reason why there are so few into learning something new.

[@mcplanmuneh2350]

"Tall grass prairie", I found it on a 25. Seems like a nice place.

[@redwolfjoy]

I have visited the Tall Grass Prairie Preserve in spring about 12 years ago for a class field trip. It was a blustery day where a tornado touched down not far from us. The place is amazing. If traveling through Oklahoma, try to visit this magical place.

[@natureok]

WOW! Annette, that is a wild story. There's not much infrastructure out there to take shelter. So glad you and the others were safe from the nado! The bison say hello and hope you get to visit soon! In the meantime, you can catch up on their latest adventures at: nature.org/okbison

[@shep9231]

Sweet... I will. Thanks for pointing it out for us. :)

[@jamessparkman6604]

Was that a reference to the Wizard of Oz

[@cernunnos_lives]

I really hope we can bring back the plants and animals our ancestors knew. The European Bison have even been reintroduced in a few places of their former range. It's a real shame we lost many ice age species, like the Irish Elk or even Cave Lions.

[@elyenidacevedo1995]

Yeah animals were much bigger back then.

[@TTT-gu4kg]

I wish we can bring back the T Rex

[@JamesBond-so1of]

@@TTT-gu4kg and turn them loose to forage in the heavily democrat populated areas like the east coast and west coast and Chicago

[@thegreatbutterfly]

Hopefully, in time, we can bring back some of those lost species--especially the woolly mammoth, which was one of the most important keystone species in arctic ecosystems. T-Rex? No. The ecosystem it lived in died out millions of years ago.

[@deinsilverdrac8695]

​@@JamesBond-so1of Yes the republican doesn't deserver wildlife, They destroy it and don't respect it or the Earth, so why should they be allowed to benefit from it, to enjoy and see it if all they'll do will be exploiting and destroy it even more.

[@rosewhite---]

Alfalfa roots go down 40 feet. Here in West Yorkshire, UK, there are area of morass - boggy land on exposed hills - that have tussocks of ancient grass growing well above the surrounding marsh. I know because I got lost in it one autumn afternoon when a storm and mist rolled in. The tussocks are impossible to walk on and I was left floundering through the mud. It was quite frightening despite being less that two miles from home!

[@loneranger5349]

I would like to see a million bison come back.

[@bardigan1]

A few wolves wouldn't hurt either. kzbin.info/www/bejne/r6TEZoJ4nb2tY7M

[@chancethompson8686]

I would like to see the 70 to 80 million that used to roam the great plains, come back and replace the cattle that are here.. Bison is a much better and leaner meat than beef..

[@chuckbeasley6074]

If there were millions of buffalo on the plains now a lot of people would go hungry

[@bardigan1]

@@chuckbeasley6074 True. Seems we could do a better job of co-existing with the environment though.

[@chancethompson8686]

@@chuckbeasley6074 How would a lot of people go hungry?? Do you know how many cows there are in the USA??

[@milesprower8]

What gorgeous camera work!

[@billponderosa88]

How'd are you.....it's AMAZBALLZ

[@mik9napkin598]

ACCURATE. Some great shots here.

[@tristand3928]

Drones

[@Anthony-hu3rj]

@@tristand3928 Hate drones.

[@wingmanbomer]

You're not wrong.

[@leesks9908]

I took a road trip to South Dakota last summer. It was the best trip of my life. In the badlands national park we saw a ton of wild bison roaming around. Me and my dad came close to one near the edge of a cliff. It was a crazy experience. You can never forget seeing a bison up close. They are beautiful creatures. After that we visited a Lakota tribe museum and I bought a handmade necklace from them with a bison on it, it preserves my memory of wild bison with it

[@moisesjimenez4391]

With natural animal crossing bridges that pan over highways, I think it would be possible to give bison even more space to roam freely. This great ecological architecture has already been implemented across highway systems in the northwest both in the US and Canada; it's proven to save animals' lives and could be a good solution for restoring and maintaining the free roam prairie.

[@t_c5266]

and when the massive bad tempered animals cross over into civilian life and start stomping people to death (as they do often in natural parks) ?

[@tommosher8271]

There's plenty of buffalo running around all the place. They aren't in danger and all this is, is a way to grab land and take away the rights of people to go onto that land. The same government that killed off the buffalo to destroy the Indian nations are now using them to do the same thing to the America people. Stop helping them do that.

[@noblestor8089]

​@@t_c5266 Wild animals avoid heavily populated areas. Bison arent even deadly in all of yellowstones history since 1890 two people have been killed by bison, for reference 2 people die in the world every single second

[@libertyblueskyes2564]

My heart soars to see migratory bison on our prairie lands once again. It took us hundreds of years to trust nature again and use her methods to replenish the earth.

[@OldMtnGeezer]

A friend of mine was talking with a grizzled old rancher who was foreman on a bison ranch in Colorado. He asked if they were hard to handle. His reply: "Aww, they ain't so bad. You kin herd a buffalo enywhere he wants to go!"

[@oppamaclare]

Funny, cattle are actually a bit like that. You just got to figure how to get them to want to go, where you want them to go.

[@finolacat8355]

😆😄👍🏻 Wise man!

[@geelee1977]

Bison are a wild native species. Threatened species. Southern strain bison are endangered. *Fool!! There are like 500,000 bison!!* --> Wrong. There are 500,000 beefalo. There are only around 10K-12K bison. *Go look up cattle introgression.* The USDA still classifies bison as domestic cattle. So they are exempt from the endangered species act. The current trend in breeding bison for food, and in farms may seem like a good thing. However, it is one of the greatest threats to their existence.

[@sue9378]

lol

[@timmteller871]

Had the pleasure to be very close to Bisons in Roosevelt National Park. It was an amazing experience justvto see those giant herds roaming through the prairie.

[@GrievingForGrace]

It is always so good to hear a positive ecological story for once. This is awesome. Side note, I learned from a video once, a Lakota woman said buffalo nibble the grass down to the ground, while cattle tear it out from the root.

[@txhawk23]

Not so sure that is true. It may seem that way due to how grazing management is applied, as it was mentioned in the video.

[@dubiousdistinction6500]

ummm no that is not true

[@peterrose5373]

that's what cattlemen used to say about cows vs sheep. It makes me wonder how much of that is intrinsic to the animal, and how much is from being held too long on one patch of ground.

[@sevenstepsurvival]

Growing up in South Dakota seeing all that empty prairie w no bison was always kinda sad

[@megamanx466]

I sorta feel like that with few Alligators in Florida. 😟

[@dreamer2260]

It's just tragic. To imagine these lands as they used to be; vast, naturally free areas, with huge herds of bison, bountiful biodiversity and wildlife, Native Americans living on and with the land, moving freely on it. And now the Native peoples have been driven out, imprisoned in tiny areas, their freedom restricted, the bison extirpated, ecosystems massively impoverished and damaged, and fences and cattle as far as the eye can see. It just breaks my heart. This kind of restoration, in conjunction with a great empowering of Native people, needs to happen on a massive scale.

[@megamanx466]

@@dreamer2260 It might be tragic, but it seems to be a natural order of how humans behave. 😅

[@megamanx466]

@Young Mage Lol, I'm sure we do, but they're apparently all down farther south than I. 😅

[@huntertierney5495]

@@megamanx466 yeah seriously even Europe had its own groups of natives and they wiped them out too it’s tragic looking through history and seeing a fuckton of colonialism

[@peacockmoss1491]

Something similar to the need for fire on the grasslands that I'd heard of (from Nova) is the need for fire in places like the sierra Nevada mountains. As some trees like the amazing Giant Sequoia (sequoiadendron giganteum) are actually fire resistant, & need the heat from fires to release their seeds, & as mentioned in this episode clear away other plants. As far as I am aware, this species of tree only grows in a few groves, & in recent years the spread has slowed greatly in part to fire prevention. Just thought that might be interesting. It's also been nice to see controlled burning (& fire in general) being mentioned on Terra recently. Thank you guys for the good work!

[@nunyobidniz]

Murray Mallee scrub in Australia (think stunted eucalyptus trees, spiky grass & red dust) needs a bushfire once in a while too

[@samuelhowie4543]

The serengeti in Africa has wildfires every year and it recovers very quickly.

[@thuringervonsausage5232]

Ponderosa Pine also develops thick cork lie fire resistant bark. I've seen flames licking 75-to 100 ft up a ponderosa trunk. Then when the Temperature is right, the Cones burst & let seeds fly like Popcorn.

[@Doctor_Subtilis]

Yes there are many fire dependant ecosystems in north America, and a lot of lost knowledge of how to care for them that disappeared with the people languages and myriad forms of life and species assemblages that co-created them. There is no getting that back, but we can do it again by caring for what we have left and fitting the pieces back together to see what emerges anew, like a Phoenix (I swear I wasn't trying to make a phoenix analogy, this is exactly the sort of emergence i was talking about) We will never get back what was robbed and murdered and wasted out of this world but that shouldn't be discouraging. there is still infinite beauty left to be made if we open our minds and stop the violence and industrial domination that continues to unmake this earth and all of us who live on it. As it stands now any beauty that persists or germinates is left in a very precarious situation.

[@inharmonywithearth9982]

@@Doctor_Subtilis The ecosystems are much more ancient than a few thousand years of Siberian Immigrants setting fire. The forests do not benefit from the fire. That will be proven soon hopefully before it is too late. The prairie never burned when millions of them migrated through keeping the grasses fertilized and mown. Bison ecosystems with grasslands also are much older than the Siberian immigrants and their fire.

[@anameofsomesort959]

Great example also up in Northwest Indiana at the Indiana Prairie Project. It's a large area where hundreds of Bison live semi-free in a reserve similar to this, but on a smaller scale. Great to see these beautiful animals living once again in a lot of these places.

[@kaelaleedaley]

Wonderful work! We have an American Plains Prairie project planted at Kew in the Country in England which is flourishing. Such beautiful biodiversity! Xx

[@nueythepyasuwan]

An ecosystem is an interdependent system. Removing a key component and then seeing the ecosystem die shouldn’t have been a surprise. The hubris of man is boundless. Beautiful and informative video. Thank you.

[@KB4QAA]

NT: No hubris involved. The needs of providing food for a growing population are what is involved. Different situations, different needs and priorities. This buffalo herd will feed no one. shrug.

[@vladiiidracula235]

@@KB4QAA 60% of food in America is wasted. Try and fix that first.

[@KB4QAA]

@@vladiiidracula235 No. Your 60% figure is unsupported. For decades and decades a 30% figure has been generally quoted. Now, if YOU want to improve that, start bruised fruit and veggies at the store. Pass up the perfect ones. Don't throw out leftovers that are starting to smell in your fridge. Buy only dented and bulged cans in the discount basket. Every little bit helps! Snort.

[@Bunny-ns5ni]

@@KB4QAA you realize that stores literally throw away "imperfect" fruits and veggies, right? They only provide the good looking produce, and throw out all the little, slightly damaged ones. I worked at a grocery store not too long ago, and they're incredibly wasteful(*cough, cough* Walmart *cough*), even with food that's perfectly fine. Dented cans, scratched produce, slightly old cereals, everything. It's all thrown away, no matter how they are. Hell, I used to help with stocking every once in a while, and after just dropping an unopened, undamaged plastic bag of rice, management would force you to throw it away. All the food wasted could easily feed dozens and dozens of people, probably hundreds daily, but they don't. It's not always the people individually who waste so much. I bet a large percentage of the time, it's grocery stores.

[@Ptitnain2]

@@KB4QAA Let's stop reproducing. We were 1 billion, a century ago, now we are almost 8 billions. Are we really gonna destroy all our planet because we can't control our populations?

[@newmexicojoe5443]

I spent over twenty years hiking over 300,000 acres of eastern New Mexico ranch land. Then, I hiked off trail in very difficult areas to access, in a Texas state park with a large bison herd. I have to say, I was very impressed. There wasn't a single area that the bison had not visited, and the bison had not eaten the grass clear to the nub like cows do. At the cattle ranches, most wildlife was very few and far between, not just from hunting, but poorer habitat for lengthy existence. The bison range had huge habitat. Very well nourished and abundant with wildlife. To me, the health of the land is best experienced by hiking. The more tracks and signs of wildlife, the healthier the land.

[@clsmith4264]

bison and cattle have the same teeth arrangement

[@b_uppy]

It's a matter of management. Moving livestock frequently is key. Look up the regreening efforts by the Mark Shepard, The Savory Institute and the Savannah Institute.

[@willbrosy]

Love seeing this ecological action! Gives me hope!

[@davidkimmel4216]

Bison are the most intelligent creatures I have ever been around. When I helped a friend with his heard of 150 pairs was the most interesting and dangerous animals all wrapped up in one animal. Thank You

[@Ecotasia]

Really interesting stuff, it is sad how little tall grass prairie remains, really cool to see the restoration efforts

[@drakekoefoed1642]

burn the junk off, disc it, spread hay from this place onto it for seed. the natural grass will take over like it did a million years ago. to give you an idea, i disked between some fall planted rows of turnips. my turnips bolted, but i left the native sunflowers (TX) and fall grass, a rye like grass that grows 2'. we had a wet spring, so the coastal bermuda grass came up in the disked areas but the rye type held its rows. if you disked some land one section a month here, in a few years the january section would have different stuff than the march section. hope this helps you visualize

[@shep9231]

Every little bit helps. The greatest journeys stated with a single step

[@miketalley5476]

I moved away from Oklahoma many decades ago. But I still miss the scent of buffalo grass, after a summer rain!

[@gordonwaldner9792]

In Saskatchewan there a is National Park named Grassland NP. It is just north the Montana border with a similar herd of bison. In Alberta and the Northwest Territories there is Wood Buffalo National Park with Bison that have been a wild herd for hundreds of years. There is also the world's largest beaver dam in that park. It is almost a kilometre in length. These two keystone environmental species keep the area pristine. The park is so isolated it is virtually impossible to visit. In my experience, it is much easier to lead bison by sprinkling grain and grass behind a truck rather than trying to push them. My neighbour managed his herd of about 100 animals with one truck.

[@thedwightguy]

My bull was like that: a white bucket and he's follow you any where. Chickens? Same thing.

[@amyp.575]

💬💬💭🤍🗯💭 people logic 🤔🤔🤔

[@Reciprocity_Soils]

That is fascinating. Love to hear more and more about the ecosystems taking care of themselves.

[@Dwightstjohn-fo8ki]

From the opening scene I thought we were going to find out that GMC dually p/u one ton trucks were saving the prairies. There were SEVEN of them??? AT LEAST???

[@deanfirnatine7814]

I think I heard that beaver dam is WAY bigger now

[@klausrain111]

Very cool! An Indian Shaman lady once told me the bison is my "spirit animal." I was like, "Oh, OK." But now I think it's cool. She said I was one of the ones who patrolled around the edges to protect the herd.

[@luketodd7954]

Great to see Bob and Perry and all the Bison keeping on. I remember well the day that we released the first small bunch onto the Preserve. Keep up the good work fellas!

[@hyrunnisa997]

Regenerative farming. Support local small farmers who manage their cattle this way.

[@michael4576]

@Martin Gary dup

[@jandrews6254]

Saw a vid about this type of thing in Africa. Massive herds of hard hoofed animals like zebra, wildebeest, antelope, all migrated across the land and yet the grass sprang up after their passing when the rains came. Keep the animals moving seems to be the answer

[@justintempus7406]

​@Martin Gary You mean the family that refused to pay grazing fees on public land, lies about their history, and run under their own made-up rules with no history in American Law? That's when when they aren't putting latrines in native archeological sites? Real stand up folks.

[@mtpocketswoodenickle2637]

Greg Judy is a fantastic example of regenerative sustainable cattle, sheep and land stewardship. He can be found on KZbin.

[@justintempus7406]

@Martin Gary The Bundy family moved to Nevada from Utah in 1877. Nevada became a state in 1864. They lie about their history to claim false legitimacy. Not that it matters because their claims to "historical grazing rights" have been laughed out of court multiple times. Anywho, I'll catch you at the next county supremacy convention.

[@Duh6666666]

Saw a herd of bison stampede on a preserve in Saskatchewan when I was a kid, one of the most impressive things I've ever seen, sounded like an earthquake and thunder all at once, and we weren't close by any means. Beautiful beasts.

[@MirorR3fl3ction]

Bison were reintroduced to a nature preserve in Alberta recently for similar reasons, but it was done in cooperation with indigenous people whose ancestors hunted migrating bison before European settles came, took over the grasslands, massacred the Bison, and forced indigenous people onto reservations with access to their historical food supplies.

[@ks9610]

Environmental scientists have to be the least appreciated, unsung heroes of our lifetime! Not only are they restoring magnificently beautiful, & unimaginably important ecosystems like the American prairie (among so many others), the full extent of their work all across the world may just save us as a species from our own self-imposed eradication! Thank you❤

[@aarongarcia9880]

I was in Badlands National Park last summer and getting to see Bison on the prairie for the first time in my life was amazing.

[@amyrussell860]

I've stopped at the Badlands twice on vacation but didn't see the herds on either visit, which was a little disappointing. However, for each trip I did see them-this past summer at Custer State Park and Yellowstone in 2019. Had to wait for one to crossing road right in front of us at Yellowstone. They are huge animals-just massive in size! When I hear stories of people getting hurt or killed trying to pose with them for pics I just shake my head.

[@jamesivie5717]

I'm a proud supporter of The Nature Conserancy.

[@mikegoettina]

YOUR PROUD TO LOCK US OUT AS THE Nature Conservancy IS KNOWEN TO GET LAND AND ONLY THAY CAN USE IT . AND THAT SUCKS

[@discover854]

Can you imagine there used to be a time when the train gets trapped for days as a herd of Bison crosses the Prairie? Think about that. For days!

[@cavedahonesty105]

LOVE THIS VIDEO AND ITS PURPOSE. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SUCH IMPORTANT WORK FOR EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING!!!

[@JAGzilla-ur3lh]

I love watching tall grass ripple in the wind, and I'll bet it's amazing to be in a place like this, where it's just grass as far as the eye can see.

[@thuringervonsausage5232]

it reminds me of a massive green Ocean. The Tall Grass Prairie averages 48" of rain, yeah that is 4' a year, you get caught out there in a Thunderstorm & you will fear for your life.

[@thedwightguy]

@@thuringervonsausage5232 TOUR ranchland in Southern Alberta: (the Porcupine, et al. ) Original grasses are still there, and MANAGED properly by ranch "groups" (the land is actually owned by Her Most Royal Majesty, the Queen, and the Canadian govt. Overgraze? Think you can grab it all and put nothing back? Then go to areas in the USA and see how bad water, land, and entitled "freedom" management get you.

[@stevencanden2911]

This video is so sweet. You can tell how passionate the caretakers are.

[@mcplanmuneh2350]

I actually did a presentation on Bison at school! I wanted to do something different this time and decided to do Bison, after alI, they are a part of American History. I just think they are lovely and do wish to see one big herd with my very own eyes one day...

[@claudermiller]

I'm 66. I've loved the American Bison since I first saw one on a shiny nickle. What a beautiful animal!

[@IIVVBlues]

Last year I had the chance to talk to a Canadian rancher. He told me that this was a growing part of ranching, mimicking the Bison as the video indicated. They do not harm the environment, they enrich it. A tall grass prairie is a carbon sink and an ecosystem that can only exist with large grazing ungulates. It can be replicated by effective management of cattle grazing.

[@b_uppy]

Any livestock can do this, just prevent ovetgrazing.

[@WatchingHumans]

Wrong. Your rancher uses cattle, not bison. Cattle did not evolve with the ecosystem, humans created them, thus why they are so much more damaging. Ranchers are manipulating the good news of native grazers by pretending it applies to cattle.

[@inharmonywithearth9982]

Domestic livestock have ruined the prairie because they do not migrate and the livestock business uses herbicide toxin and exterminates the wildlife.

[@Jesus-qv5sw]

Bison must be priority, the bisons does grazinz in a way on which they preserve some grasses untouched

[@ariadgaia5932]

Videos like this fill me with so much joy and hope for the future! FINALLY! We're healing the wounds we've inflicted upon the Earth~

[@ariadgaia5932]

Oh- I detected a bit of hubris towards the end... Ouch. I mean, yeah... humans do control a lot, but the ultimate controller of the Earth is Gaia. As in Gaia hypothesis. A combination of the biosphere, lithosphere, oceans, and atmosphere. We are but one tiny piece of a much grander puzzle. Sure, our piece is much bigger than most of the other living creatures~ But we are not the ultimate rulers of Earth.

[@singkewlaw1594]

I ABSOLUTELY ALL "PBS" DOES AND THANKFULLY WE "CAN" COMMENT ON THIS AMAZING VIDEO. IT TAKES GREAT PEOPLE TO ENGINEER THINGS LIKE THIS AND BRING BACK THIS GREAT SPECIES FROM NEAR EXTINCTION FROM DESPICABLE EUROPEANS 300 YEARS AGO AND THE ARMY SLAUGHTERING FOOD FOR NATIVES!!

[@JustMeJH]

I saw wild bison for the first time just a few months ago at a MN preserve like this one. They are a sight to see, so beautiful. After this video, I’m very interested in learning more about prairie management and the buffalo, and their parts in preserving the earth. Great video!

[@thedwightguy]

Ted Turner and a few towns in grazing areas have done just that: TAKE the fence all down, and FENCE THE TOWN, not the pasture. Give the animals choices. And remember when you'fre in livestock country (esp. at dusk and at night) don't drive 100 mph. and think nothing will the standing on the road!! IT can BE DONE.

[@williamrbuchanan4153]

Yeh, man is always in a hurry to destroy for profit, it’s called greed, mindset Globally.

[@theberserker5077]

I was on the Rosebud REservation a few weeks ago and looking forward to seeing the herd of bison but some scheduling mix up and I wasn't such a big deal so I roamed around the towns of mission and VAlentine. I think the herd is around 200 and growing to 2000. YEs, lets go for hundreds of thousands and millions once again. It will require and new way of thinking about how we live as human beings here in USA and the world. Lets hope we return.

[@stephenfrancais]

Witnessing these animals in person leaves a lasting impression.

[@ralphdavis9670]

I am so thankful that these people are out there taking care of our lands.

[@OG.Stangs]

I'm grateful that there's people devoted to this. Thank you! Bison are beautiful beings, glad the pariaie is improving and so are the bison.

[@anujbramhan9016]

Yeah Joe sir....thanks again for narrating so smoothly😊 Also thanks to the team working there....🙏

[@natureok]

Thanks for the kudos Anuj! I will pass your gratitude on to our bison and the field staff. In the meantime, here's a link to learn more about The Nature Conservancy's work with bison at the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve: nature.org/okbison

[@anujbramhan9016]

@@natureok Thenku🥰

[@SandyTidwell]

We recently visited the Bison and Elk Prairie at the Land Between the Lakes in Kentucky. Same concept but on a smaller scale. That prairie also included other animals and birds this video didn't mention, but the key was the same - establishing and maintaining those grasses and the bison to restore the ecosystem that all but disappeared when the bison were hunted to near extinction.

[@lucaskolson]

Loved this video! Thank you for making it and thank you for supporting bison herds and habitats!!!

[@Cthulhuliessleeping]

if i ever visit the US, i gotta visit those vast grasslands, those look amazing on video already

[@saynotop2w]

They are good. Not exclusive to the usa though. If you want some amazing landscape, go to Argentina

[@rbd6502]

@@saynotop2w tierra del fuego? :D

[@mininudoalem7950]

@@rbd6502 the Pampa, it encompasses parts of Argetina, Uruguay and Rio Grande do Sul, really beautiful place with an interesting culture

[@jasonreed7522]

Lot of countries have lots of natural beauty. Personally i prefer the Adirondack Mountains of my home state, just something about forrested mountains is deeply peaceful and beautiful to me. It helps that NY set them aside as a massive state park with the interesting situation of having lots of towns within it. (Entire counties) But i definitely recommend visiting as many different regions/national parks as possible when visiting. My own family needs to do a road trip to all the national parks at some point.

[@CuriousKev]

I remember watching an old Ted talk about restoring grasslands, ecosystems, and preventing grassland desertification by managing cattle and goats in this type of way. If I find it again I’ll post the link here.

[@CuriousKev]

Found it kzbin.info/www/bejne/rKG3eZxthJtppqs

[@georgeparsons7338]

I live in Barton county MO about 5 miles in from the KS state line. When Europeans came to this county it was almost completely prairie. The only trees were along NFork cr. Little north fork, horse creek and drywood creek. The soils on my farm were mostly formed under woodland vegetation cause I live along Little north fork. The soils are mapped in the Hector Bolivar complex. This is my family farm and when I moved back here after my folks passed away the back side of the place had been overgrown in trees and brush. I started cutting spraying and burning until I managed to get 8 acres of prairie restored. It is ssoooo beautiful. There's still a lot of work to be done. I've had health problems the last few years and can't work as hard. I pray my family continued my work. We run a few cows and during drought I will graze this area and it actually helps improve it when I lightly graze it. I love the prairie so much, I love to be in the middle of big grasslands and see the horizons. That is where I went right before a major surgery I had to do. Sat in the middle of a big prairie and meditate.

[@1voluntaryist]

The whole picture: Bison + fire + wolves. Predators keep the herd moving and that's essential for the Bison to do their job.

[@huehuecoyotl2]

The predators also naturally cull the old, weak and diseased, keeping the herd healthy.

[@Sillyhands1]

Yeah they should really just reintroduce wolves to naturally herd the animals

[@pumpkinking5174]

Something positive for a change. I needed this.

[@dzerres]

There was an effort a while back to connect more of these preserves and string them together from Texas all the way into Canada and maybe get some bison to migrate again seasonally. That would be wonderful. There's enough space out there and farmers who want to be bought out to do this.

[@gingko3766]

Who was organizing this? I’m interested in this vision

[@giovanniherrera6037]

That’s a good idea, I’d imagine if it ever becomes complete it would another national park or something of that nature

[@500redneckgun]

If you join some agricultural discussions or talk to farmers and ranchers, this is actually frequently comes up as their worst nightmare and why they hate environmentalists. There are some farmers here and there who would be interested, but a whole lot more in between that would essentially have to be forced off of their land to make this happen.

[@skylerspringsteen5730]

I highly doubt that, it’d cost billions to purchase hundreds of thousands of acres to connect them all and to manage it. Not to mention the huge drop in revenue in the beef industry causing beef prices to skyrocket. Unless of course Buffalo hunting will be allowed

[@jasonreed7522]

@@skylerspringsteen5730 i would say its theoretically possible to manage it fairly amd effectively, but i agree its incredibly unlikely to take off. To do something on such a large scale would need either 1 company running everything or a herd of millions under shared ownership of all the small ranches connected together. Both of which have the potential to be/get very messy.

[@sheriherrick4420]

This was another AWESOME learning experience for me! Thank you all for all the work you put into these videos!

[@alfonsomunoz4424]

There's a prarie museum at the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Preserve in Oklahoma that shows a cross-section of the soil horizons and root system of the grassland. Its amazing how deep the roots extended underground.

[@bkbland1626]

This is still the land of Tatonka. It's high time that they returned.

[@dreamer2260]

Indeed.

[@goodluck5642]

yee

[@Paul1962]

Agreed

[@slipstreamxr3763]

Good news the european bison cousin to Tantanka. or Zubr as it's called to us Polish/Americans is also starting to slowly recover it's territory thanks to the efforts of the Polish and a few other countries.

[@jasonbrown467]

i say bring back the dinosaurs. with unlimited tax money anything is possible

[@mauricioibarra701]

I love bison. Amazing creatures.

[@dontbeadrone]

Beautiful aerial footage.

[@AcuteStressResponse]

I was wondering when we would start education people to this experiment. Spread the word and lets do this we can really turn things around if we all are aware and make it a priority, Its up to us.

[@SofiaS531]

it's so interesting to see how they move! it instantly made me think of a school of fish

[@awenmckee4995]

School of fish, flock of birds, or herd of herbivores, they all move that way to make it hard for prey to follow any one target.

[@sygrovesteve5819]

It could be morphic resonance….. see Rupert Sheldrake

[@0HARE]

What a fascinating and beautiful episode! Thanks for this peek into the tall grass prairie ecosystem.

[@TwiztedHumor]

this is heartwarming! excellent work guys!

[@soolly357]

I live in san Francisco & i love heading out to the Golden Gate park. There's a small place where bison are kept. Love seeing them.

[@jimmynotnice9190]

Love to see bison back such a crucial part of American history and our ecosystems would love to have millions of these running around in the wild again 🥰💯

[@gallagjg]

I’m amazed we are bringing them back- amazing!

[@markburnsworth3591]

Thank you, its nice to see positive things these days.

[@jurassictyrantkingYT]

*I saw a bison up close once and I thought they were huge. I have to admit I look forward to seeing the day when we have 50 million bison roaming the Great Plains as they once did.*

[@antoniocipolla3259]

you didn't explain how the bison contribute to spread seeds all around the prairie. Probably they eat the seeds and then are spread with the poo, with a lovely quantity of fertilizer

[@Flowergurl2000]

They help by stomping the grass and eating off last years blades. They break up the soil.

[@vincentx2850]

Bisons do spread seeds, but not through eating them. Many grasses have sticky seeds with hooks, and they can hitch a ride by attaching to the fur of large animals. Bisons are grazers that can break down cellulose very efficiently, seeds are not likely to survive their digestive tracks.

[@chevychase3103]

@@vincentx2850 depends on the type of seed!

[@devilmtn]

And many of the prairie seeds require fire to germinate!

[@Dustyshaven]

Wild horses do the same thing.

[@ouranhighhost]

Thank god. I recently watched the TED talk from Allam Savory. Good that some people took it to heart.

[@josephhyland8904]

"Who's my brave little guy?" Love it!!

[@LimeyLassen]

I've heard similar things about elephants. After I read "Ghosts of Evolution" I've been thinking a lot about how America used to have so much megafauna, and whether we might actually benefit from bringing elephants back. It's not as strange as it sounds!

[@zachb8012]

Elephants died out in NA naturally and the Bison replaced the niche. Restoring the bison means a lot to so many iconic species, sage brush, sage grouse, wolves, etc. What is truly mind blowing are that vast number of smaller overlooked species which benefit from the herds. Insects like the dung beetle for example will move their dung underground where it fertilizes the plants. Generally where the Bison are reintroduced biodiversity explodes. I live in Mt and in my opinion the biggest challenge reintroduction faces is crazy government policy based on misinformation about brucellosis. According to policies the Bison are the primary vectors of it but they're not, Elk are way more likely to transmit it to cattle but ranchers love them. Let's call a spade a spade and say those policies were created to protect industry white Europeans have always intended to displace the prairie's native ecosystems and people. We can find a compromise, I say.

[@notthatguy4703]

We've completely altered out land in such a way it will never be the same, and introduced thousands of exotic species. Elephants would undoubtedly be good for the land and fill a niche that has been left empty, but can you imagine trying to convince people to do that??? People aren't bold enough, and people definitely aren't smart enough to pull it off

[@johnadams5992]

@@zachb8012 It's a shame that they slaughter the few remaining pure gened bison who number fewer than 15000. These few remaining pure gened bison are critical for the recovery of the species and should be relocated to strengthen local gene pools instead of being slaughtered. Yes, greedy MT ranchers who control the legislature are to blame.

[@jsutton9142]

@@notthatguy4703 introducing another exotic species is not the answer.

[@notthatguy4703]

@@jsutton9142 Why not?

[@michaelangellotti4773]

Title: How Bison are saving America's lost prairie Me: Tell me more, please

[@brucesteele3052]

Hint: bison lips are a different size than are cows.

[@elcomodo1]

The barbed wire killed the open prairie. Before we tackle regenerative agriculture we have to talk about individual property rights. (Or find a compromise for the two)

[@kathycarlson7947]

Stories like this one educate and delight. Thank you!

[@garethsmith3036]

some of the most compelling drone footage I've ever seen

[@dubbixdub4376]

More animals should definitely rewilded, such a beautiful landscape deserves more beautiful fauna!

[@johnsumser9743]

Riding or driving through the western states on back roads, you can see groups of wild horses -- quite beautiful.

[@guarfield2551]

@@JW-hi5wd horses are native to the americas.

[@Trystero_]

like passenger pigions. though looks a little iffy.

[@jasonreed7522]

@@guarfield2551 horses eveolved in north America, crossed the bering land bridge, then died out in NA before finally being re introduced when they escaped from the spanish and other colonizers through verious means. (Like sinking ships, death of owners while riding, escaping farms, ect). I think we could technically say that horses circumnavigated the earth before us, but that requires some rule bending to permit generational migration in a single direction. Tldr, the evolved in NA but died out and were reintroduced as a feral species. Personally that doesn't make them a native species.

[@stoyantodorov2133]

@@guarfield2551 Wild horses do not belong in america. The ecosystem they lived in disappeared more than 10,000 years ago. The predators that inhabited america at that time are gone as well. Mustangs are feral domestic horses, result of selective breeding for speed and strength. Currently they have no natural predators, breed out of control and strip vast areas of vegetation. Very similar to the farm cattle overgrazing mentioned in the video.

[@CorazonMexica]

They are so cute and adorable.

[@richardgaspar4590]

Grasslands look amazing, seeing the wildflowers always cheers me up.

[@MrMawnster]

" a stomach with four legs".....no.....FOUR stomachs with four legs haha

[@furthereast6775]

After all, we're just stomachs with two legs and a soul.

[@kfl611]

one stomach per leg, makes sense to me.

[@revinhatol]

Appa's got five stomachs.

[@alvinmercado6305]

Your Antarctica trip has made me trust whatever you guys do, keep going whatever and showing whatever! Its super entertaining/ informative.

[@christopherbzowski4346]

"Who's my brave little guy." killed me

[@wswillett]

Thank you to hunters license dollars and them starting conservation groups

[@skylerspringsteen5730]

Teddy Roosevelt was gods gift to conservation

[@OppoOppo-zp6ok]

This should be the most purple of issues. All "sides need a healthy earth to give to the ones who come next

[@jsnel9185]

Absolutely.

[@-min-hw9qw]

I like that Joe is the narrator! New to the channel, great videos so far !

[@jeffstevens156]

I’d love to see the bison in their former glory. Thank You!

[@Flyanb]

We were off-roading in the SD badlands, technically Buffalo gap national grasslands in the Rosebud Indian reservation. One of the best parts of that trip was being surrounded by a heard. Scary too they are as big as a Honda Fit and if you look at them sideways the come at you. Super glad they are doing so well. I wish they were more free. I appreciate what the ranchers are sacrificing to make this happen.

[@reality6756]

I grew up on the western Great Plains in the "short" grass prairies. I find short grass prairie far more beautiful even thought that makes me biased, of course. Regardless, the presence of Bison brings beauty to the Great Plains few people have experienced in its majesty!

[@theaccidentalanthropologis2743]

Looks like a worthy stop on a future cross-country drive!

[@annienmouse9767]

When KZbin is full of videos of “Walmart Idiots” and “Karen’s”, it’s so refreshing to come across a video that shows thoughtful, intelligent Americans doing wonderful work to help save the planet. It’s a beautifully presented video with a calm narrator giving us the facts. Keep up the good work. We need videos like this to give us hope when everything around seem to be all doom and gloom.

[@NetWanderer101]

A few years ago I visited Salt lake in Utah. They have a preserve on an island in the middle of the lake with hundreds of bisons. Very nice to watch them roam freely.

[@twstf8905]

5:10 it's Dusty Baker!! 👍 #CrossTimbersBison @CrossTimbersBison Sulphur, Oklahoma.

[@seattlegrrlie]

Fire has never been the problem, it's that humans build homes in areas that need to burn. Forests, prairie, many places are refreshed by wildfires

[@2adamast]

Then you haven't seen barren rocky landscapes were trees, earth and water are gone for rocks only

[@bobsyouruncle66]

@@2adamast It's true seeing a burnt out mountainside is not pretty...but nature needs to renew. and fire is a way of doing that. Just ask the original people of this land they managed their landscapes with fire for centuries and thrived

[@yolo_burrito]

Correct, in fact many areas are fire maintained ecosystems and fire is a natural part every 3-10 years.

[@kamimikuta4929]

ALOT of people don't build houses for what their landscape calls for.

[@hailexiao2770]

@@2adamast You have to wait a few years for them to return