Bison were reintroduced to Lone Elk Park in 1973 from Saint Louis Zoo officials, according to records from the St. Louis County Parks Department. It started with a herd of just six. On Wednesday, St. Louis County Park Ranger Matt Reim told Patch the current herd typically ranges between 13 to 15.

St. Louis County Chief Operating Officer Garry Earls was quoted earlier this week as saying that county officials would sell animals located at the parks targeted to be closed under a newly proposed county budget reduction for 2012.

(See Eureka-Wildwood Patch article from Tuesday:  Lone Elk Park, Greensfelder Park and West County Tyson Park Among Those County May Close)

Being on the brink of extinction in the 1890s due to unregulated killing with only 1,500 individual bison, they were completely eradicated from Missouri by the 1850s, according to Lone Elk Park display materials.

Members of The Missouri Bison Association state on their website that bison are the largest land mammal in North America since the end of the Ice Age. The site references estimates of the pre-European herd size to be 30 million to 70 million animals that ranged over most of North America.

Carol Klein, the association's newsletter editor and owner of a 60-bison herd in Pineville, MO, indicates bison now number more than 500,000 — most which are privately owned. "Bison are an important part of the heritage of Missouri, and the unique animals in your park in St. Louis might be a pure genetic strain that we wouldn't want to lose," she said.

Klein said when overall bison numbers dropped to 500 about 100 years ago, there was a bottleneck in the breeding aspects. "It would be vital to consider the genetic makeup of this herd [at Lone Elk Park], and I would insist that if the animals are sold or given away, that they be placed in one of Missouri's other parks that support bison."

She said she knew Prairie State Park in Mindenmines, MO, already had bison and that staffers there were expanding. "Prairie State has native prairie, probably even more than the St. Louis area does. And they believe in their animals, preservation and the ecosystem."

This state park consists of 3,942 acres, and is located in Barton County in southwest Missouri. It was founded in 1980, and contains five hiking trails.

Editor's Note:  Residents will be able to comment on the proposed budget at the first public budget hearing immediately after the County Council meeting on Nov. 15 at 41 S. Central Ave., in Clayton.