10/12/2026
Earth Win of the Week: The buffalo are coming home!
This week, 50 American bison were released onto nearly 40,000 acres of prairie in South Dakota’s Badlands, part of a Lakota-led effort to restore the land and reconnect with an important part of their heritage.
Bison once roamed North America by the tens of millions. Their near disappearance changed more than the landscape. It disrupted entire ecosystems across the Great Plains
And bringing them back takes work.
Years of planning, restoring habitat, studying soil health, and preparing the land led to this week’s release.
Bison are a keystone species. Their grazing, movement and even the depressions they create in the soil help support native plants, insects and wildlife.
The ecological results will take time, but 50 buffalo are roaming this prairie again, with plans for hundreds more.
Restoration isn’t always about creating something new. Sometimes it’s about bringing back what belongs.
What an Earth Win!
Thunder Valley CDC released 50 bison onto nearly 40,000 acres leased from the Oglala Sioux Tribe, starting a plan for nearly 400 head.