The Bison that Protect One of Missouri’s Last Prairies Bison Once Roamed North America with Numbers in the Millions.

Before European settlement, the place that we call Missouri was home to millions of acres of tallgrass prairie, a grassland biome home to a diverse array of plant and animal species, like bison. Today, less than one percent of it remains.

Bison once roamed North America with numbers in the millions. After government-sanctioned mass slaughter decimated the bison population, efforts to restore their population began. Today, their numbers continue to increase.

But the prairies they used to roam remain imperiled. What do we know about how bison contribute to the health of grassland biomes, like tallgrass prairies? And, what makes grasslands important?

Julie Freijat is a Kansas City PBS/Flatland reporter and a Report for America corps member working with the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk. Her work is made possible, in part, through the generous support of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.