PHOTOGRAPHS: SHANNON ROSS/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO
The American bison’s dust-stamping march back from the brink of extinction continues apace. Although Yellowstone National Park has long been the most popular place to see the animals, the Great Plains were once their true heartlands. South Dakota is well on the way to enabling that revival: after a 150-year absence, these plains will soon feel the beat of bison hooves again. The state’s Badlands National Park has completed a land-swap with a ranch that had previously blocked the bisons’ movement, meaning that visitors to the most accessible part of the park will now be able to see them.
nps.gov/badl