O/B Radio

Despite being America’s national mammal, bison don’t exactly have it easy—especially those that live in Yellowstone Park, where they’re routinely hazed, hunted, and harassed.

Luckily, Buffalo Field Campaign in West Yellowstone toils year-round in their defense. They inform the public, hold the government accountable, and provide safe passage for migrating animals.

Across the state, American Prairie is building a massive bison sanctuary of its own, where the public can observe not only buffalo, but a rich and diverse array of other wildlife.

Together, they're helping bison regain their rightful place on the American landscape.

Recently, longtime documentary-film collaborators Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan released "The American Buffalo," as well as a companion book, "Blood Memory: The Tragic Decline and Improbable Resurrection of the American Buffalo."

Together, they tell a compelling story, retracing the 1804-1806 route of the Lewis & Clark Expedition—when millions of buffalo roamed free—through non-native settlement of the West, when commercialization, Manifest Destiny, and human greed led to the species' near-extinction.

The final chapter is one of hope, with an unlikely cast of characters coming together to save the bison and help restore a long-lost aspect of native tradition and culture.