Bring Back the Buffalo!: A Sustainable Future for America's Great Plains

Callenbach (Ecotopia!) envisions two fundamental changes for the Great Plains: restoration of great herds of buffalo (bison) with accompanying pronghorn, deer and elk and widespread development of wind power. He makes a cogent case for restoring buffalo to sparsely settled regions poorly suited to cattle. Once close to extinction, nearly 140,000 bison are thriving today in parks, on ranches and on Indian reservations. Callenbach points out that bison have a less damaging ecological impact than cattle on streams and grasses; their meat is a healthy choice over beef; and the animals are a tourist attraction. Also, bison require no winter care, and fewer hands can manage them. Callenbach tells us where to see bison in state and national parks; he looks at ranches--Ted Turner runs the biggest herd on his Montana ranch, and Don Thiel has tourist facilities on his Terry Bison Ranch in Wyoming. Callenbach examines the future potential of buffalo; as long as the federal lands bureaucracy classifies bison as ``exotic'' animals, his vision appears to be in the distant future. Illustrations. (Nov.)