More Yellowstone bison information.

Thanks for the link. It's a good article with important points, but one correction is due.

While one paragraph in the article is mostly true, it contains a factual error. Consider the following:

In fact, the Yellowstone herds are not "the only publicly managed animals that are free of any cattle genes." There are just a few other smaller herds — originally derived from Yellowstone bison — that also are free of any cattle genes and are publicly managed. The prime example of such a herd is the Wind Cave National Park herd.

But the point made by the article as a whole is important. I've made this point repeatedly over the past few years, as I did a few weeks ago in this recent thread. Over 98% of animals that appear to be bison are actually descendants of experiments to create hybrids of wild bison and domestic cattle.

There are so few bison herds untainted by cattle genetics that the Yellowstone herds are crucial to survival of the species. There may be a half dozen herds (or so) that preserve un-hybridized bison genetics. The largest is the Yellowstone-Teton Parks herds. Next I believe are those in Wind Cave National Park (which originated from Yellowstone stock.) And there are a few much smaller herds scattered across the country.

It is estimated* that there are only about 7,500 American Bison remaining with un-compromised genetics. So the slaughter of 1000 of those from Yellowstone, as has been proposed this year, represents the destruction of around 13% of the species — as it has adapted genetically to this continent's ecosystems.
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*White, P. J., R. L. Wallen, D. E. Hallac, and J. A. Jerrett, editors, Yellowstone bison—Conserving an American icon in modern society. (Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming: Yellowstone Association, 2015.) Page xiv. (Download link.)