Majestic and powerful animals, the bison remains one of the most admirable symbols of the American West. These icons have roamed our prairies and rangelands for thousands of years. Once in numbers reaching into the tens of millions, bison became the life-source for Native Americans who utilized every part of the animal. However, Westward Expansion brought European Americans to the areas occupied by Native American tribes in the 1800s and soon the U.S. Army sought to remove these tribes by removing their main food source: bison. By the late 1880s, the great herds of bison that once dominated the landscape were nearly gone. Now, herds are being restored through conservation efforts with more livestock producers joining the movement.