Yellowstone Bison being restored to the Great Plains

Soon, 65 wild Yellowstone bison will thunder across tribal lands in Montana for the first time in more than 100 years. Defenders of Wildlife helped secure the relocation of these iconic animals from a 5-year captivity to the Fort Peck Indian Reservation. Now, these bison need your help to make their epic journey. Will you help the Yellowstone 65 travel their historic 500-mile journey -- and help restore wild bison to the Great Plains? Theirs is a tragic tale: Once numbering in the tens of millions,America's bison were hunted to the brink of extinction in the 19th Century. Of the few that survived the slaughter, only 23 truly wild bison remained in the remote valleys of Yellowstone. Today, there are only a few thousand genetically pure, wild bison left in America. But for those living in Yellowstone, their hardships continue into modern times. Each winter, when they descend to lower elevations outside Yellowstone National Park in search of food, these magnificent animals are hazed back into the park where food is scarce, rounded up in holding pens or even shipped to slaughter, all out of exaggerated fears that they could spread disease to cattle. Five years ago, several dozen bison were spared from slaughter and placed in a small long-term quarantine pen.Now, after years in captivity, the last of these bison -- the "Yellowstone 65" -- will soon have a new home -- an important first step in ensuring America's wild bison have a lasting future on the Great Plains.  Defenders of Wildlife is a national, nonprofit membership organization dedicated to the protection of all native wild animals and plants in their natural communities. Defenders of Wildlife can be contacted at: 1130 17th Street, NW Washington, DC 20036