Page 30 - Flathead Living // Spring 2015

STROLLING THROUGH THE NATIONAL BISON RANGE IN MOIESE IS AKIN TO STEPPING BACK INTO A BYGONE ERA, WHEN THE SHAG-HAIRED, CURVE-HORNED, HUMP-BACKED ANIMALS ROAMED THE GREAT PLAINS IN MASSIVE HERDS.
From a population of between 30 and 60 million ani- mals roaming across North America, bison reached a population low of 100 in the wild in the late 1800s. Since 1908, the National Bison Range has played an important role in the successful recovery of the strik- ing creatures, said Amy Lisk, National Bison Range biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Bison ranged across the continent in herds num- bering from fewer than 10 to more than 10,000. The
buffalo was one of the most numerous large mam- mals to ever exist on the face of the earth. Around 32 million lived on the Great Plains alone, the thumb- shaped band of arid grasslands paralleling the east- ern flank of the Rocky Mountains from the Texas Panhandle to Southern Canada. An additional 4 to 8 million bison were thought to be scattered to the north, south, east and west of the plains.
But pressures on bison began with competition for
28 FLATHEAD LIVING | SPRING 2015