Where the Buffalo Roamed: Restoring the American Serengeti (Princeton Conservation Society) 

Most people don’t realize how important those grasslands are to ground water recharge. Many of those grasses have incredibly deep roots that allow rainwater to penetrate through the topsoil and makes its way down to the aquifer. Nice work!

I remember coming across a paper, about 20 years ago, written by the Poppers in 1987. They were a husband and wife team of environmental economists who posited the notion that the most effective use of the prairie lands in future would be to return them to their original state, marked by the re-introduction of the bison. The basic premise was that for all the frontier spirit bound up with the creation of homesteads, the populations of many rural counties had been in decline since the 1930s and that maybe that return to wilderness was something that could be the catalyst for eco tourism and economic growth. I loved the challenge laid down in the original paper and have periodically internet-searched to see how it was progressing. Today I found this and it was terribly moving. Who knows, one day this 60 year old from Manchester in the UK will come and see enormous herds of buffalo in a restored habitat.

this is spectacular and heartbreaking at the same time. It should be shown on every TV channel. thank you for doing this.

Princeton Conservatory: Words cannot express my heartfelt appreciation , gratitude, and just thankfulness that I have to your organization , each and everyone of you restoring the Buffalo throughout this land to its rightful place for future generations! Thank you for all your hard work in making this world a better place ! Godbless.

We can NEVER truly make up for the horrors our ancestors did to the Native Americans but projects like this help so much.

The US Government needs to sign all “reservation” land back over to their respective Tribes. All that “Reservation” Land is held in Trust by the US Gov, For the Tribes. This structure has a horrible economic impact on the Tribes. If it’s their land, they should have 100% ownership of that land and have the ability to do what they want with it. This is also why you don’t see permanent housing on most reservations. Banks are not willing to lend money for permanent housing structures on land that is not directly owned owned directly by the mortgage holder. It’s complete lunacy and tyrannical control. History is just that; History. All Americans should cherish The Native People’s of the Americas. Their History is Amazing! Learn it. It’s been incredible to see the Tribes in my area not only working together but successfully create a business infrastructure that benefits the entire region. The Entertainment Business the local tribes have built is impressive! From 4-5 Star Restaurants, Casino’s, live entertainment venues…. It’s just awesome to see. These Tribes are pushing back agains the American Government’s “welfare” handcuffs, becoming self reliant and a successful economic powerhouse! What’s most remarkable is they are retaining their culture and history throughout this transformation. This economic success is actually preserving their history for generations to come and enriching all the citizens of this region.

I’m coastal, yet I pray for the day the plains are restored! I know it’s going to happen!

I live not to far from the prarie reserve blm land. I can see Decision Point from my front window and I get to watch 3 Buffalo 25 yards from my house. I feel blessed and at the same time I am reminded of all that was lost. It makes me sad.

I love that American prairie reserve is doing this

Really nice work. Great overview of the project, with interviews, scenery, animals. Hat's off to whoever created this film.

What an astonishingly beautiful and heart breaking documentary. I wish God's creations will return as he designed the prairie. 18:44 is the epitome of human emotion. After all these loss, yet.

This is great, I'm really happy that this project is taking place and being successful, but can I see some Native people involved? When you see conservation projects in Africa or S. America, most of the people running the projects are locals. I didn't see any here. There's so many desperate, young Native people who need direction in their life. Many of which are raising themselves because their parents are addicted to drugs or alcohol. They're addicted because when they were young, that had no direction, meaning, or purpose. There is no shortage of young Native people who can be recruited to become involved in this project

This and other ecosystems is where millionaires and billionaires need to invest when they pass on. They have taken so much from this world to make their billions and now they need to give back. Without these ecosystems, our time on this planet is limited.

Thank you for the important work you do.

Fantastic project. Amazing work.

People may not see it now but it's gonna be a win all around. Wish you success.

I have spent the last 16 years working in the biotech industry as a scientist and project improvement specialist making good money with awesome benefits. I am now pursuing a masters degree in biology so that I can make a career change and make a lot less money. As a master naturalist and amateur botanist and mycologist I dream of a career as a professional in one of these fields with an emphasis in public involvement, as this is the only way a project of this magnitude can survive is with public interest and support.

Thank you

amazing project.

Did wild horses roam the wilds of America?Will Wild horses be put on the American Serengeti ?

Let's right the wrong. Let's return the prairie to the Plains Indians -- and let's let the buffalo, the grizzly bears, the proghorns, the elk, and the prairie dogs return too. Let the Native people manage the land and the wildlife so we can life in balance once more.

Good will to our Native American Brothers and Susters. ☮️

18:55 Ghost Dancers’ prayers coming true ❤️🙏❤️

this is amazing, such good work. i hope the joy in this creation still resides in all of you, this is a gift

Good custodians of the land!

6:00+ Please can someone correct the closed captions to get those names right?

Restoring the American Serengeti 1 ghost dance 2 let the buffalo roam again 3 let the Indian roam again freedom again

Just admiring the shape of your skull

Do you have to plant Prairie Grass on these recovered lands?

I would love to visit the American prarrie reserve I know people call them plains as in plain and boring but in reality the prarrie is an interesting place you got many plants,grasses,micro and megafuana

I want to move and I can only offer hard work. what can I do to help out. I love bison.

I Thomas Love Like to see mustang and mountain lions. Please

Any thought of reintroducing historically present animals to increase biodiversity? South American Camelids, the California Condor, horses, reindeer, elk, cougars, etc?

good luck

Kooooool 🤟🤟🤟🤟🤟

I was expecting to see more buffalo.

So horrifically cruel what was done to the bison and the native peoples... So much pain here.

A long time ago I hunted deer and antelope along beaver creek south of Malta, this is one of my favorite places in Montana,one late afternoon I was heading back to camp and I heard and felt the heartbeat of Grandmother and Mother Earth with every step I took, the first time I walked in balance, I’m glad Tatonka is roaming there again

George Horse Capture Junior is clearly a wise and intelligent human being. The idea of Bison repopulation and re-wilding is a good one, and long may the project continue.

Grizzlies are a mountain/forest animal, a few inhabited the plains but in low numbers in comparison to the food rich forest. That young man has been fed some incorrect information.

The same can be done with other large grazers. The cattleman is your friend.

Dylann Roof comes to mind. A manifestation of his evil forefathers who entered a church and took the life of a group of unarmed worshipers. In regards to the gentleman’s comment at the 11 minute mark. Cheers mates!!

Make America great again... just like this!

Kudos, yet the reserve is only 12.5% of the area of the Serengeti. We still have a long way to go. Any prospect of acquiring land and building meaningful connections between large conservation areas to promote natural migration unimpeded by man made structures.

Reduce the beef cattle numbers, replace with buffaloes. Personally, Bison steak is better!!

Could u imagine ur first day of highschool and the teacher is doing role call and she's like "Joseph...... Spotted Otter?" Ur peers would be ruthless

Why were Native Americans the only people’s to get stripped from their languages? We have all these languages around the WOLRD, yet our ancestors could not speak the language.

So... are the Indians allowed back on too... ??? Can they roam free and hunt too ? The way they did, before they were kicked off their own land.

Restore the Bison but don’t return the land to the natives or allow them to utilize said Bison as the once did. Simply brilliant!! Cheers mates!!

May Your land and culture sustain... and People Who did unjustice on Tribals.... Perish.......

All in the name of so called “Progress” aka Greed...

America does not have a 'Serengeti', Africa does. :)

Let’s get rid of the cattle ranches on the plains and give the land back to the buffalo. Who knows we might be a healthier country not eating cow, and eating bison instead.

you are missing the a critical point. The ranchers were providing beef: if you are replacing the beef with bison, elk and deer there should be a hunting season. Then it would be natural and would make for a better food source for families who can afford the hunt.

It's a really near thing. I get where the native guy is coming from. But it's really not a simple as he's framing it. As soon as the Spanish reintroduced the horse, it was pretty much over in terms of the "native way" of life, regardless of Europeans. I like the prairie reserve. But the story of European contact is way more complicated.

This is great. But don't force the Montana and Wyoming ranchers to sell their land. A land grab just isn't right. If they don't want to sell don't force them. Most of the big ranches have been in their families for many generations. They have built them, died for them and paid dearly to keep them.

American *Serengeti?* They say grassland, they mean savannah... A lot of chest thumping by interviewees... Video likes to wander off-course. This is a very poor offering by Princeton.

Let's be honest... the natives hunted this land dry... not europeans

Where are all the American Prairie American Indian top employees in this film? Seems like the same old group is still in charge. Elitists still running people off their land, just with a different philosophy and gentler means. I would appreciate this film more without the recrimination by a group of hypocrite. The project itself looks great though. I would be interested to know what American Prairie will charge visitors or if they will turn the park over National Park Service when they are done? A "conservation group" near me bought up a bunch of the mountains and for $30 a day per person you can go hike there. So, it ends up just being a tax free country club for rich people. I guess it's better than subdivisions, but still seems somewhat disingenuous seeing as they do not pay tax and could turn the land over to the state park that is adjacent to it that would only charge $10 a car load of people per day.