Millions of Buffalo Once Roamed the Great Plains (from "Darkness Over the Plain")

In the early 1800s, there was approximately 30 million bison roaming the Great Plains. But by the end of the 19th century, less than a thousand still existed. Historian Andrew Isenberg says environmental challenges and a devastating blow by white hunters led the bison to go from an animal in excess to near extinction in less than a hundred years. Brian talks with Isenberg about the bison’s decline in the 1800s and why some people see the bison as a symbol of a bygone American frontier. Next year, Isenberg’s book The Destruction of the Bison: An Environmental History, 1750-1920 will be re-released with an updated foreword focusing on the current status of the mammal in America.