Buffalo Commons is a proposal to restore large parts of the drier portion of the Great Plains to native prairie grazed by buffalo. The proposal originated with Drs. Frank and Deborah Popper, who argued in a 1987 essay that the current use of the drier parts of the plains is not sustainable, as indicated by, among other things, periodic disasters such as the Dust Bowl and continuing significant population loss over the last 80 years. They point out that the rural Plains has lost a third of its population since 1920. Several hundred thousand square miles of the Great Plains have less than 6 persons per square mile - the density standard Frederick Jackson Turner used in his Frontier Thesis to declare the American Frontier "closed" in 1893. Large areas have less than 2 persons per square mile. They showed that the number of "frontier counties" increased by 14 between 1980 and 2000, and pointed out that there are more than 6,000 ghost towns in the State of Kansas alone (according to Kansas historian Daniel Fitzgerald). They claim that the decline is accelerating. The Great Plains states. ... Prairie refers to an area of land in North America of low topographic relief that principally supports grasses and herbs, with few trees, and is generally of a mesic (moderate or temperate) climate. ... Binomial name Bison bison Linnaeus, 1758 The American Bison (Bison bison), also called Buffalo, is a bovine mammal that is the largest terrestrial mammal in North America. ... Sustainability is a systemic concept, relating to the continuity of economic, social, and environmental aspects of human society. ... Dust storm approaching Stratford, Texas The Dust Bowl, also known as the Dirty Thirties, was a series of dust storms caused by a massive drought that began in 1930 and lasted until 1941. ... The Great Plains states. ... Frederick Jackson Turner Frederick Jackson Turner (November 14, 1861–1932) was an American historian. ... The Frontier Thesis or Turner Thesis is the conclusion of Frederick Jackson Turner that the wellsprings of American exceptionalism and vitality have always been the American frontier, the region between urbanized, civilized society and the untamed wildnerness. ... In the United States and Canada, the frontier was the term applied until the end of the 19th century to the zone of unsettled land outside the region of existing settlements of European immigrants and their descendants. ... 1893 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... A street corner in the ghost town of Bodie, California. ... State nickname: The Sunflower State Other U.S. States Capital Topeka Largest city Wichita Governor Kathleen Sebelius (D) Official languages None Area 82,277 mi²; 213,096 km² (15th)  - Land 81,815 mi²; 211,900 km²  - Water 462 mi²; 1,196 km² (0. ...

The Poppers propose that a significant portion of the region be "deprivatized", and envision an area of native grassland perhaps 10 or 20 million acres (40,000 or 80,000 km²) in size. One way to achieve this would be through voluntary contracts between the Forest Service and Plains farmers and ranchers, paying them the value of what they would have cultivated over the next 15 years but requiring them instead to plant and reestablish native shortgrasses according to a Forest Service-approved program. At the end of the period, the Forest Service would purchase their holdings except for a 40-acre homestead. The USDA Forest Service, a United States government agency within the United States Department of Agriculture, is under the leadership of the United States Secretary of Agriculture. ...

The proposal has attracted much public attention, and has met with intense criticism from some Plains residents. Its proponents answer that the criticism is based on a misunderstanding that the plan would be coercive rather than voluntary, and hold that something like the proposal is likely to happen with or without government involvement. The Poppers draw parallels with Northern New England's agricultural depopulation following the opening of transportation with the West in the 1830's, which led to the return of forests. Criticism of the Buffalo Commons idea has subsided in recent years. A recent report by the North Dakota state Labor Market Information Center supported the idea. While the states marked in red show the core of New England, the regions cultural influence may cover a greater or lesser area than shown. ...

External links

• "The Great Plains: From Dust to Dust", original article on the proposal from Planning magazine.
• "Plains sense", article from High Country News on the recent history of the proposal
• Where the Buffalo Roam, Pulitzer finalist in nonfiction, highly readable book on the Popper idea and its reception among residents, scholars, planners, and politicians.