Current Project
Bison (Bison bison)
American bison were probably extirpated from the southern Appalachians during the late eighteenth century. Brimley (1949) indicated bison originally ranged over much of North Carolina but were exterminated about 1760. Dr. J.A. Allen's (1876) summary of bison in Tennessee, reported that the hill's and coves of the Allegheny Mountains in Tennessee," which were covered with native grasses, attracted bison from the lowlands in summer.
In 1995, Bob Long worked with Tennessee Valley Authority, Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources, and Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency to develop plans for a 750 acre enclosed wildlife viewing area at Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area. The director conducted the habitat evaluation and prepared the feasibility assessment for the project. "The Elk-Bison Prairie" features native grasses, elk and bison. After controlled burns and sewing native grasses, 29 elk and 40 bison were released into the viewing area. Visitors can drive through the 3.5 miles of paved roads and see the Kentucky prairie just as Daniel Boone experienced the same area.
This area affords researches an opportunity to observe human-bison interaction. This data will be valuable for consideration of herds of bison in Great Smoky Mountain National Park, Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area, and others possible sites for free-ranging herds.
Extirpated Species Foundation will support efforts to reestablish both captive and free-ranging herds of bison throughout the eastern United States. While enclosed herds are unlimited, free-ranging herds would be restricted to only a few large expanses of public land such as the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Land Between the Lakes.
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