American Bison Society. Office of President. William T. Hornaday records

Overhunting brought the American bison near to extinction by the end of the nineteenth century. William T. Hornaday, Director of the New York Zoological Park, was an early and active supporter of bison conservation. On December 8, 1905 a meeting was held at the Bronx Zoo to organize a national society that would establish herds bred from specimens in private, captive collections and would place them under government protection. Under the leadership of Hornaday as its first director, the American Bison Society launched a national campaign to raise funds to create wild bison reserves, stock them with bison from the Bronx Zoo and elsewhere, and educate the public about bison. In 1907, the ABS shipped 15 bison to the Wichita National Forest and Game Preserve in Oklahoma by cart and rail. This was the first animal reintroduction in North America. In 1910, the ABS helped buy the nucleus herd for the National Bison Range, Montana, and in 1913, the ABS donated 14 bison to Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota. Counting on the successful reproduction of the species, the ABS considered their work done and disbanded the organization in 1935.

In 2005, the Wildlife Conservation Society relaunched the American Bison Society to secure the ecological future of bison in North America.