COMMERCE CITY, Colo — Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge (RMA) has welcomed its newest animal resident.
The first bison calf of the spring season has been born at the Commerce City wildlife refuge. The bison calf was spotted Monday morning by U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service employees.
Located 10 minutes from downtown Denver, RMA is home to a herd of more than two dozen bison, as well as deer, raptors, songbirds, waterfowl, prairie dogs and coyotes.
Denver Parks and Recreation (DPR) maintains two conservation bison herds in the Denver Mountain Parks system at Genesee Park and Daniels Park.
The herds are descendants from the last wild bison in North America and were originally established at Denver’s City Park by the Denver Zoo and the City of Denver. The herd was moved to Genesee Park in 1914 and expanded to Daniels Park in 1938.
In March 2023, 35 bison from Denver were returned to tribal nations across the country. Many tribes consider the animal sacred but were stripped of their herds hundreds of years ago.
Of the 35 bison, 17 were returned to the Northern Arapaho Tribe in Wyoming, 12 to the Eastern Shoshone in Wyoming and five to the Yuchi Tribe in Oklahoma. One additional bison was given to the Tall Bull Memorial Council in Colorado.
The donation of Denver Mountain Parks bison to American Indian Tribes and American Indian nonprofit organizations will continue through 2030.
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