Beholding A Bevy Of Beautiful Bison At Genesee Park

I was driving past Genesee Park on Interstate 70 a few days ago, about 20 miles west of Denver, and noticed that the buffalo herd managed by Denver Parks and Recreation was out and about and very close to the fence that surrounds them, as seen in the photograph above, making for a perfect opportunity to take a few photographs. Denver maintains two bison herds, one at Genesee Park and the other at Daniel's Park in Sedalia, south of the city near Castle Pines, Colorado. These herds are descendants of the last wild bison in North America. When Europeans first arrived in North America, there were 30 million bison, but by the 1880s they had been nearly wiped out. By the beginning of the 20th century, there were only about 1,000 left. To try and save the species, a herd was established in 1908 at Denver's City Park by the Denver Zoo and the City of Denver.

The 18 bison at the Denver Zoo in 1908 were all that remained in Colorado. They were moved to Genesee Park, operated by Denver Mountain Parks, in 1914, and a second herd was established at Daniel's Park in 1938. Happily, there are now estimated to be 500,000 bison in North America today. Beginning in April 2021, the City and County of Denver began donating surplus bison to the Cheyenne and Arapahoe Tribes in order to help return wild bison to their native homes and tribal lands. While I was at Genesee Park, I noticed that there were a fair number of calves there, helping to increase the herd's numbers, such as the two in the photograph on the left.

As you can imagine, I was not the only person who was there observing the herd. When I drove into the parking lot, I saw a large number of children around a picnic table, who turned out to be part of an outing sponsored by the Denver Mountain Parks Foundation, getting ready to view the bison. And as I was walking back up the trail to the car, a large group of tourists passed me by, also heading to view the bison. There were three vans from three different sightseeing companies in the parking lot as I was leaving, which means tourist season is now in full swing in Colorado. And by the way, it was only this year that I discovered how to get to this particular bison viewing area. After passing by what looked like a road leading to a parking lot near the bison compound over a period of months as I drove west on I-70, I finally got off at the Chief Hosa exit, turned left onto Genesee Drive, took another left on Genesee Lane, and drove one mile to the parking lot and the Patrick House Trailhead, which is where the buffalo - I mean bison - roam. Of course, bison are native to North America, while buffalo are native to Africa. The song Home Home on the Range should go "Oh, give me a home where the bison roam," not buffalo. I would talk to someone about this, but have no idea who to contact.