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of bison, also known as buffalo, once roamed most of North America. They were heavily relied on by many American Indian tribes who harvested the animals for food and materials to make clothing and shelter.
• Overhunting reduced the population to about 1,000 animals by the turn of the 20th century.
• That's when conservationists, including President Theodore Roosevelt, intervened to save the species from extinction. Beyond today's wild herds in places like Yellowstone National Park, there are an estimated half-million bison, including animals in commercial herds, many of which have mixed cattle genetics.
• Yet resistance to free-roaming bison lingers.
• In Montana, livestock producers and property rights advocates have filed lawsuits to stop the spread of an animal that ranchers say can tear down fences,

spread disease and compete with domestic cattle for grass.
• This week in Boulder, Colo., city officials citing cost concerns and public opposition rebuffed a proposal from Ted Turner to donate a bison herd for viewing along U.S. Highway 36.
• John Calvelli with the Wildlife Conservation Society, one of the "vote bison" campaign sponsors, said the effort is meant to transcend political concerns and instead mark the animal's place in American cultural history.

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