DENVER — Denver Parks and Recreation (DPR) donated 13 American Bison to the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes in Oklahoma, as well as one bison to the Tall Bull Memorial Council in Colorado.
DPR said it's the first donation of its kind for the city. For nearly 40 years, DPR held an annual Bison Auction at Genesee Park in which it auctioned off bison from Genesee Park and Daniels Park. The department announced April 2 that it will no longer hold the auction, but will continue working with its “tribal partners to select tribes across the country that will accept the bison to build and enhance conservation herds on tribal lands.”
“Denver shares a common vision with our tribal partners to return and restore wild bison back to historical habitats and ancestral lands,” Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock said. “Bison restoration efforts teach us how to be better stewards of the land, improve prairie landscapes and ecosystems, ensure genetic diversity of the species, and ensure a legacy of cultural understanding.”