November 2 marks 2024 National Bison Day, a celebration of the U.S.’s National Mammal, the American bison.
As it has for nearly a decade now, the U.S. Senate in September passed the National Bison Day resolution. As the species continues its restoration to its native landscape, National Bison Day recognizes the animal’s importance to American culture, conservation and commerce.
Bison neared extinction 150 years ago due to a combination of unregulated hunting, persistent drought and disease and a disregard for conserving the species. The species’ numbers dropped to under 1,000 bison left in the world.
Thanks to a cohort of forward-thinking ranchers, conservationists and federal officials, the American bison was saved from extinction. That collaboration remains intact today, resulting in restoring the species to over 400,000 animals across North America. This unique collaboration among conservation, tribal and agricultural bison stakeholders led to the establishment of bison as the National Mammal in 2016.
This National Bison Day, bison farms and ranches, zoos, Native American tribes, museums, schools and more will celebrate this iconic species across America. The National Bison Association encourages all bison enthusiasts to take part in these activities to learn more about bison and to celebrate its continued restoration.
The National Bison Association is a nonprofit trade association made up largely of bison farmers and ranchers which has members in every state, every Canadian province and six countries. Collectively, today’s bison producers are stewarding this species as nature intended, replicating their historical habitat of healthy grasslands and utilizing regenerative ranching practices to mimic their ability to “roam” the landscape while supporting American farmers’ and ranchers’ livelihoods.
The result is a unique approach to food production that not only ensures humane treatment of bison but also benefits the ground that they graze on and myriad flora and fauna that share the species’ habitat. The resulting meat is a nutrient dense, extremely lean protein that has become an American delicacy as both chefs and households have embraced deliciously healthy bison meat.
Bison as a species are not domesticated, which farmers and ranchers use to their advantage. They still give birth according to their natural cycle, they are not artificially inseminated, do not receive any growth stimulants, have minimal predation issues because they can still defend themselves and retain their innate instincts that have preserved the bison for millennia. This is why the National Bison Association refers to the species as “Regenerative by Nature.”
When managed correctly, bison regenerate healthy soils, grasslands and prairie and the species itself. Learn more about bison at https://bisoncentral.com/perfected-item/bison-regenerative-by-nature/.
Happy National Bison Day!
