Most of us, probably, I daresay, almost all of us, have never seen a real live bison, usually called a buffalo, although a distinct animal. Bison, literally by the millions, used to roam across American prairies until practically destroyed by white men, who thought shooting them from a train was sport.
Designated as the “national mammal in 2016, bison are sacred to Native Americans who relied on them for sustenance. Now, thanks to the lobbying of some Montana cattle ranchers, a bison reserve needs to move its 900 bison to open the land for beef production in spite of opposition form environmentalists and Native Americans.
American Prairies, the group that owns the bison, will spend a fortune moving the animals to other areas where land prices have soared in this corner of Montana. But wanting to keep the local ranchers in the right voting column, the administration has said they must move off leased lands. Bison behavior keeps the American prairie a prairie unlike cattle just munching. Bison maintain the ecological balance of grasslands. Bordered by indigenous lands and a National Wildlife Preserve, the bison can live as God created them. But it seems that money and politics has a greater voice than God.
Prayer for the Day
Only the occasional cloud brings on shade on these lands,
In this springtime when mothers give birth, O God;
Replenishing the earth with the variety of your creation,
The waters of shallow ponds give life to all around them.
Hold us fast, O Lord, to protect your creation from encroachment,
And let not the voices of greed and profit rule.
In the name of the One who blesses us all,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
Temperate grasslands like the Great Plains are the least-protected biome on the planet, for a couple of reasons. Reason one: They just ain’t as thrilling as, say, a mountain. It’s a lot easier to feel God when you’re standing on a craggy peak seeing the earth spread out before you than it is when you’re standing in some prairie grass getting bit by a tick.
Blythe Robertson, from the Alta Journal (Mach 2026)
It is offensive and unacceptable that the federal government would still seek to keep any buffalo off these lands,
Chairman of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Ryman LeBeau
Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
Tell me, if you have understanding.
Job 38:4