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Bison or buffalo were once the dominant herbivore that impacted the ecology and landscape of North American grassland and forest ecosystems from Alaska to Mexico prior to European colonization. By the early 20th century they were almost extirpated in the wild with two exceptions; in the areas that eventually became Yellowstone and Wood Buffalo national parks. Since then, private individuals, NGOs, government agencies and indigenous peoples have collaborated to restore these populations, but significant hurdles remain to achieving full ecological recovery of the species; a vision which was articulated in a landmark paper in Conservation Biology in 2008 (Sanderson et al 2008 - The Ecological Future of the North American Bison: Conceiving Long-Term, Large-Scale Conservation of Wildlife). Unfortunately, bison have been virtually erased from most people's consciousness and imagination for over a century now, making restoration efforts for the largest land mammal on the continent particularly challenging. Despite this, several locations have had remarkable success in re-establishing wild, free-ranging bison populations in Canada, the US and Mexico over the past two decades. Bison populations have recently been re-established in Banff National Park, Alaska, and Yakutia (Siberia) and there are plans to restore populations on tribal and indigenous lands in both Canada and the US in the next 10 years. The signing of the Buffalo Treaty in 2014 was the impetus for many of the current restoration efforts on tribal and indigenous lands and indigenous groups are heavily involved in shared stewardship of these transboundary bison populations. While commercially raised bison have very different goals and vastly outnumber their wild counterparts, who are managed for ecological restoration and conservation, both groups have several shared values relating to the long-term goal of maintaining and increasing the overall number of bison in North America as well as maintaining their wild character. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bison (Bison bison) are a majestic species native to North America that have a rich yet turbulent history. This iconic species is valued due to its cultural significance among indigenous people, impact on the vast geography that it inhabited and commercially for its meat products with desirable attributes. Conservation efforts have included both public and privately owned herds, and efforts to increase their numbers presently continue on both fronts. The objective of this presentation is to provide some historical context about bison, an overview of bison ranching in North America, review research on bison and suggest research topics of importance for this species. Bison roamed North America from Alaska to the northern tier of Mexican states in massive numbers up until the late 1800's where relentless hunting and waste dwindled their numbers to no more than 1500 head. Today the farmed bison industry in North America is a thriving livestock industry with over 300,000 bison on farms and a keen consumer interested in the story and sustainability of bison. The primary product from the industry is meat, but skulls, hides and farm tourism are also sources of revenue for the industry. There is much about bison that is unknown, but the body of knowledge is increasing as research is published and through code of practice development. Genetic testing and disease surveillance are important tools for species preservation, both on private ranches and public herds. Understanding bison seasonality, adaptations to low quality forages, interactions with their environment and sensitivity to stress helps both the conservation and commercial raising of bison. More research into nutrition, meat quality, reproduction, technology adoption and handling techniques to lower impacts of stress will help efforts towards successfully raising and enjoying bison. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]