I was interested in a story posted today about the efforts of some people to return the bison to the wild. It shows that no issue these days is without pros and cons. Certainly the ranchers have a valid concern that bison infected with brucellosis should not be released to spread the disease to their cattle. And the land available to support massive herds of bison is definitely not sufficient. Even the National Bison Range keeps their herd small to maintain wildlife diversity on the refuge.
I was surprised to learn at the Bison Refuge that most of the bison alive today are not genetically pure bison, having cross-bred with cattle over the last century and a half. The bison at Yellowstone are the most genetically pure, as the article mentions. But how awesome would it be to see large herds of bison on the prairies again? The challenges of balancing economics and practicality with what is essentially emotion confronts us here. What do you think?
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