An up-and-coming bison farm is happy to see the species thrive in the Foothills.
1907 Bison, run by Tom and Jennifer Duckering, is committed to honouring the history of Canada's bison and the immense conservation efforts that have been undertaken throughout the province for over a century.
According to Jennifer, the year 1907 is of great historical significance when it comes to bison reintroduction and conservation in Canada.
"That relates to the sale of the Pablo-Allard bison herd in Montana near the Flathead Reservation [to the Canadian government in 1907]," she said.
The historic herd, operated and grown by Michel Pablo and Charles Allard, had amassed over 700 bison, which at that time made it one of the largest remaining bison herds in North America.
"At that time, prior to 1907, bison herds were scattered. There were small herds like this," she said, referring to her farm's 26 animals.
"The U.S. government had turned down an offer to buy the herd, and the Canadian government stepped up and purchased [most of] the herd and moved about 400 of those animals to Elk Island National Park."
Today, well over 3,000 free-roaming bison can be found throughout Alberta, including established herds in Elk Island, Wood Buffalo and Banff national parks.
"Essentially, that sale in 1907 is the inflection point to the numbers being restored," she said.
Located southwest of High River, the herd lives on land owned by BJ Ersson, who along with his late wife Christina operated Highwood Bison Ranch before retiring and offering their support to help the Duckerings fulfill their dream.
"In 2020 I think it was, I came across an ad with the Bison Producers of Alberta," said Duckering. "They were selling a couple animals together and they were willing to mentor us... that got the ball rolling, so we took a bit of a risk and it's been amazing.
"Being landless farmers with no attachment to any certain area or lake or river or family name, we thought having that historical moment in our ranch name would be really neat and help teach consumers about how important that date is in terms of bison history."
In addition to their historical importance, Duckering said that a crucial part of her love for the animals is the emotional connection she feels to them.
"There's almost a feeling of kind of trying to correct the direction that they went," she said. "You know, everyone knows the history of how they almost went out of existence, and the fact that we're trying to bring up their numbers.
"It's very appealing to be part of that, to try and contribute to that, even in a small way with a small herd."
Duckering's herd is composed of plains bison, one of two American bison subspecies alongside wood bison.
"The wood bison are more native to northern Alberta and then the plains bison are native to this area, southern Alberta, and throughout the (United) States," said Duckering.
The Canadian Bison Association works to "preserve the genetic integrity of the bison species" — something that Duckering is committed to as well.
"So this is a pure plains bison herd... some bison ranchers will mix the two, because the wood bison is a larger bison, to get more volume of meat, but we wanted to honour the genetics of this animal and keep it native to what is found in this region."
As bison reintroduction and conservation efforts continue across Alberta, Duckering would like to see bison farming become more established in the Foothills.
"A lot of bison ranchers are in Saskatchewan and north of Calgary... so there's not a ton of bison producers in the Foothills area," she said, adding that the existing bison community in the Foothills and southern Alberta has been incredibly welcoming and supportive.
"It's amazing just to be a part of the industry in any role, because there's just something very appreciative about playing a small role in raising these animals.
"They're truly the native meat of North America."
As a relatively new operation, 1907 Bison primarily sells its products through Hartell Homestead. Learn more on 1907 Bison's recently-launched Facebook page here.
