National Park Service director calls Yellowstone's wild bison recovery an 'incredible conservation story'

A little more than a century ago, Yellowstone's bison were hanging on by a thread.

Today, thousands of them roam the park.

And the conservation challenge has shifted from simply saving the herd to figuring out how to manage a thriving one.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE FROM OUTKICK OUTDOORS During an interview with OutKick OutDoors, Jessica Bowron, acting director of the National Park Service , called the recovery an "incredible conservation story." After millions of bison once roamed the Great Plains, the animals were nearly wiped out across their historic range.

Rebuilding those populations, Bowron said, has taken decades of careful scientific work and cooperation among the Park Service and its Tribal, state, local and federal partners.

"To show up at Yellowstone today and have the experience as a visitor of seeing a wild bison in a functioning ecosystem, I don't know that we could have predicted that 100 years ago," Bowron said.

That's a pretty remarkable turnaround.

And now, Yellowstone's bison are helping build conservation herds far beyond the park itself.

Through the Bison Conservation Transfer Program, Yellowstone works with Tribal partners to relocate live bison that have completed the necessary quarantine process.

Since 2019, more than 600 bison have been transferred to 29 tribes across 13 states, according to Bowron.

More than 200 were transferred in 2026 alone.

"This is one of the coolest parts of this entire conservation effort," Bowron said.

Once the animals are transferred, she explained, each tribe can manage its herd according to its own priorities and sovereignty.

"It's a great example of how we're able to establish and expand conservation herds through that kind of partnership," Bowron said.