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Virginia: a former hotspot for bison – Environment America
May
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In the 1700s, Virginia had more bison than any other state on the east coast. Wilderness Road State Park takes you back in history to the glory days of bison in Virginia with their very own herd.
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State Director, Environment Virginia
I am working to visit all of Virginia’s state parks. When I started this journey, I was excited to learn more about conservation efforts, nature, wildlife and the environment in Virginia. I was not anticipating all the history I was going to learn as well.
The most surprising history lesson I have learned so far: bison were not only native to Virginia, they flourished in Virginia! As I arrived at the fifteenth park on my quest, Wilderness Road State Park, I was shocked to see a herd of bison near the entrance.
My parents are from South Dakota so bison were a part of road trips to the Black Hills and Badlands growing up. I even got to take my husband to see them during a family reunion last year. Little did I know, we could have driven 30 minutes from where his grandma lives to see the Wilderness Road State Park herd.
Did you know there were an estimated 60 million bison roaming North America when Europeans first arrived to the “New World”?
Bison are descended from the last remaining megafauna in North America. Today, they are the largest land dwelling animal on the continent. They are a national symbol of our natural heritage and even have a spot on the National Park Service logo.
Native American populations and later European settlers used bison for many purposes. They utilized their meat for food, horns for tools, pelts for warmth, and natural grazing impacts for the establishment of routes called “traces”. These traces created by bison were used by wildlife and humans alike. Many eventually became roads and railways that we still use today.
Due mostly to overhunting and efforts to eliminate Native American food sources, bison in America were once on the verge of extinction. By the early 1800s, populations severely declined and bison became essentially gone in the east. About a century later, only about 1000 remained anywhere in America.
Thanks to restoration efforts and protection status, we still have bison in the United States today. Today, most bison live on farms and ranches but about 5000 bison roam free, mostly in Yellowstone National Park.
Fun fact: Settlers and eventually Native Americans started referring to bison as “buffalo”, and the terms are often used interchangeably today. True buffalo are found in Asia and Africa. Many eastern cities, waterways and landmarks with buffalo in their name (think Buffalo, NY or Buffalo River) are actually named after bison.
Bison weren’t just out west as they are today. At one point bison roamed the whole country and were common everywhere from Florida to New York. In the 1700s, Virginia had more bison than any other state on the east coast.
While bison could be found in the east pre 1500s, they are not known for living in forested, mountain areas so movement past the Appalachian Mountains was not very common. Additionally, Native Americans likely limited their abundance which decreased herds’ ability to move and distribute east past the mountains. This theory is supported by the massive increase of bison to east coast during the 1600s after European settler’s decimated many tribes through disease and conflict.
By 1730, sharp population decline in tidewater Virginia began and slowly this decline moved west. Today there are no native herds in Virginia but their impact is certainly still felt.
Fun fact: The first Englishman to report a bison sighting was in 1612 near the Potomac River.
Before modern engineering, there were only four points to move west through the Appalachian Mountains. One of these was the Cumberland Gap near the Virginia and Kentucky border. While the terrain of the gap allowed passage, there weren’t established trails. This is where the bison came in.
Famed frontiersman Daniel Boone established Wilderness Road through the Cumberland Gap in 1775. Bison were used to clear this path. From 1775-1800 it is estimated that 300,000 settlers used this bison created route to move west into Kentucky and eventually the midwest and beyond.
Wilderness Road State Park showcases a lot of this history. The park features replica Native American camps and a reconstructed pioneer settlement. You can visit the park’s herd to learn more about bison in Virginia as well as the central role Southwest Virginia played in western expansion.
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State Director, Environment Virginia
A former canvass director and organizer with Impact, Elly now directs Environment Virginia’s efforts to promote clean air, clean water and open spaces in Virginia. Elly lives in Richmond, Virginia, where she enjoys gardening, photography, hiking and rollerblading with her dog.
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