Bringing back the bison: Environmental values and the ecological restoration of Great Plains shortgrass prairies

What is left of the Great Plains shortgrass prairie landscapes is under serious threat to its ecological integrity from unhealthy land use and grazing practices on privately owned rangelands. Two different strategies have been proposed for shortgrass prairie restoration: (1) encourage ranchland owners to replace livestock-centred with biodiversity-centred cattle grazing and land management; and (2) reintroduce bison herds on tribal reservations. These two strategies offer an opportunity to address whether a land ethic to which Indigenous peoples have subscribed for millennia or of the kind authored by Aldo Leopold, can play a significant role in biodiversity conservation efforts. The essential finding of this article is that ranchland owners are sharply constrained by market forces in the application of a land ethic, but bison reintroduction on Indigenous reservation common lands is in tune with tribal purposes that reflect a spiritual relationship to all of nature's beings.