Last Stand

About “Last Stand”

In the last three decades of the nineteenth century, the American buffalo herd was reduced from 30 million animals to twelve, as the species was hunted to near extinction during an era of Manifest Destiny and industrial expansion. George Bird Grinnell, a scientist, journalist, hunter, and conservationist, led efforts to save the buffalo through advocacy in magazines, political influence in Washington, and direct action in Yellowstone, ultimately contributing to the emergence of the conservation movement as a political force.