Conservation Leaders Join Bison Ranchers at Conference

Newswise — Slightly more than a century ago, animals gleaned from the Bronx Zoo bison herd were transported West to help establish preserves designed to rescue buffalo from near extinction. Next week, leaders from the Bronx Zoo-based Wildlife Conservation Society will join with more than 500 bison ranchers and marketers gathering in the Black Hills of South Dakota to celebrate the restoration of bison to the ecosystem--and to diets--across North America.

The third-ever International Bison Conference, scheduled July 24-28 in Rapid City, SD, comes at a time when the North American bison herd is approaching one-half million animals as private ranchers expand their production to meet rising consumer demand for bison meat. Now, interests representing the private ranchers have started to work with conservation leaders to assure that expanded bison production maintains the historic integrity of the species.

Kent Redford, director of the Wildlife Conservation Society Institute, will discuss the role of the American Bison Society and WCS's historical role in restoring the bison, which began a century ago. He will also hold a special workshop during the upcoming International Bison Conference to review the steps being taken to establish and expand "conservation herds" of bison across North America. In addition, officials of WCS will conduct a focus group among the bison ranchers to identify some opportunities to more effectively market conservation attributes of bison.

"Restoration of bison is not just a numbers game," said Dr. Redford. "The Wildlife Conservation Society and its partners are also determined to restore the ecological role of the bison, along with the fullest complement of native species that once lived alongside with these great North American icons. We look forward to working with bison ranchers and others to achieve that goal."

Dave Carter, executive director of the National Bison Association, noted, "The participation of the Wildlife Conservation Society in our international conference is an important milestone. In the past, there has often been a degree of tension between ranchers and conservation leaders those tensions are melting as we discover that private ranchers and conservation officials all share the love and respect for this magnificent animal."

Participants in the International Bison Conference will include ranchers, managers of public bison herds, tribal leaders, animal health officials, public policy leaders, and bison enthusiasts.

The Wildlife Conservation Society - Since 1895, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has worked to save wildlife and wild lands around the globe. Today WCS has field staff at work in over 60 nations, protecting many of the last wild places left on our planet. To bring the mission home, the Bronx Zoo based WCS is distinguished as the only global conservation organization that also operates the world's largest system of urban wildlife parks, educating more than 4 million zoo and aquarium visitors each year about the importance of wildlife conservation.