Buffalo National Park

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Buffalo National Park was created in eastern Alberta on June 5, 1909, and delisted in 1947. It was one of several national parks created in the Prairies expressly to protect and regenerate populations of bison and pronghorn antelope whose numbers were dangerously small.^[1] Buffalo National Park's focus was bison, and it was created after the Canadian government purchased about 700 head from the Flathead Reservation in Montana, USA. In 1909 the herd was transported to the new park by train, along with elk, moose, and yaks.

The few hundred turned into approximately 40,000 bison, 3,000 elk, 300 moose, and 65 yaks throughout the park's existence. It eventually fell victim to its own success, for as numbers grew, disease and starvation spread among the herd, competing for food on the park's 518 square kilometers. Sanctioned slaughters in the late 1910's brought public outcry, and, with its mission accomplished, ultimately resulted in the park's closure in 1940. During the 1920's, some of the buffalo were moved north to Wood Buffalo National Park, although every year buffalo were sold to other parks or killed. Buffalo National Park's lands were transferred to the military in 1947, eventually becoming CFB Wainwright.

On June 10, 1980, four buffalo from Elk Island National Park were brought to Wainwright, the town next to the former Buffalo National Park, to form a commemorative herd to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Alberta provincehood. Today, near the main gate about a dozen buffalo reside in Bud Cotton Paddock, named for the first Park Warden (1912-1940), Bud Cotton.

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^ Others included Wawaskesy National Park, Nemiskam National Park (both in Alberta), and Menissawok National Park in Saskatchewan. All were abolished by 1947.