Threshold

Each season, Threshold explores one story from the natural world, and what it says about us. Season one focuses on the American bison.When you start out talking about bison, you end up talking about America. Wherever you are in the U.S., bison used to live there too. How did that change so drastically, so quickly? Can the U.S. ever have wild, free-roaming bison again? Should we? Threshold podcast dives deep into the history of the American bison to understand who we are, where we've been, and where we're going. 

Yellowstone National Park is where we saved the American bison from extinction. But each year, we slaughter hundreds of animals from this prized herd. Why? Learn more on this episode of Threshold.

How did we go from more than 50 million wild bison to just 23 free-roaming animals? And how does the decimation of the herds relate to the oppression of Native Americans? Find out on this episode of Threshold.Each season, Threshold podcast explores one story from the natural world, and what it says about us. Season one focuses on the American bison. Dig into the history of the American bison, from their arrival in North America, to current controversies surrounding their management today.

Amy goes off-trail in the Yellowstone snow and discovers how hard it is to be a bison.

A Yellowstone visitor tries to explain how it feels to watch the country's largest wild bison herd grazing in the Lamar Valley.

Many cattle ranchers view wild bison as a threat to their livelihoods. But some think cattle and bison can coexist. On episode three of Threshold, you'll meet two cattle ranchers with different perspectives on wild bison — and, we'll take you on a controversial bison hunt.

Yellowstone Park Superintendent Dan Wenk gives his take on the bison conundrum.

Humans first encountered bison more than 75,000 years ago, as we migrated north out of Africa. We retrace that journey across Europe and Asia, and into the Americas.

In episode four of Threshold, we meet Robbie Magnan of the Fort Peck Tribes. He believes his community can prosper in the future by reconnecting with their roots as the Tatanka Oyate — the buffalo people. Magnan has built a quarantine facility that could be an alternative to the Yellowstone bison slaughter, but right now it sits empty while more than a thousand bison are being culled from the herd. Why? We'll learn more about Magnan's vision for bison restoration, and investigate why some people are opposed to it.

Lennae Klyap of Dome Mountain Ranch talks about what happened when a lone bison bull migrated onto the ranch's property north of Yellowstone. 

"We have fallen heirs to the most glorious heritage a people ever received, and each one must do his part if we wish to show that the nation is worthy of its good fortune."~ Theodore RooseveltIn 1908, the National Bison Range was created by carving 18,000 acres out of Montana's Flathead Reservation. Now, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says it is willing to transfer the land back to the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. But, a lawsuit has been filed to stop the proposed transfer. In this episode we meet tribal members who feel they are the rightful stewards of the land and the historic bison herd, and others who are trying to stop the transfer.

Visit the American Prairie Reserve, a conservation project in the heart of Montana that could eventually be home to 10,000 bison. The vision is to stitch together 3.5 million acres of public and private lands to form the largest wildlife park in the lower 48. But some nearby ranchers feel the push to build the APR is pushing them off their land, and they're mounting a resistance. We also try to solve the Great Elk Mystery: why are elk that have been exposed to brucellosis allowed to roam free in Montana, while bison are not?

In the last episode of Season One of Threshold, listeners will encounter pearls of wisdom from youth who have grown up with bison in their midst, and take a trip to the Oakland Zoo, which will soon receive buffalo from the Blackfeet tribe that will help jumpstart a conservation herd there. We also conjure the big ideas driving this first season - what's our future with this animal? How does that connect with our history? Can America ever have wild, free-roaming bison again?

Today, the Missoulian is reporting that Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke is planning to "change course" on the proposed transfer of the National Bison Range to the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes -- meaning his agency is not going to support the proposed transfer. We reported on this story in episode five of season one. Check out this page to see pictures and videos of the National Bison Range, to learn more about the CSKT, and to find out about the lawsuit to stop the proposed transfer.Zinke is a Montanan who formerly served as the state's sole representative in the U.S. House (yep, Montana only gets one).  

To become one of the extremely good-looking people who supports Threshold on Patreon, click here.To learn more about the Gwich'in and the Arctic National Wildlife refuge, click here.To be among the first to know when season two is ready, and to get lots of fun pictures and insider info while we busily prepare it for you, join our mailing list.We are so grateful to all of our listeners and donors! Thank you!   

What does it feel like to run with a bison herd? Dr. Dustin Ranglack knows. He spent years studying one of the country's wildest herds in Utah's Henry Mountains. Meet Dustin and Threshold Assistant Producer Nick Mott in this penultimate bison extra.To become one of the extremely good-looking people who supports Threshold on Patreon, click here.To be among the first to know when season two is ready, join our mailing list.We are so grateful to all of our listeners and donors! Thank you! 

In this final extra for season one, you'll meet Vernon Finley, Chairman of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. Amy talked to him last April about the decision to stop the process of transferring the lands of the National Bison Range back to the tribes.You'll also hear a "lost episode" -- or half of an episode -- featuring Karrie Taggert, an unwitting bison activist. Karrie moved to Montana to get away from it all, and ended up taking a leading role in the effort to protect wild bison in her neck of the woods.Plus, "Buffalo Suite," by Travis Yost!To become one of the extremely good-looking people who supports Threshold on Patreon, click here.To be among the first to know when season two is ready, join our mailing list.We are so grateful to all of our listeners and donors! Thank you!

What is the Arctic, anyway? Like, is it the North Pole, or the south? Do penguins live there? Polar bears? What about people?On Threshold Season Two, we're taking you on a circumpolar journey to learn about one of the most important regions of the planet: the polar north. Most of us don't think about it very much. But we should. The Arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet and the changes happening there have the power to push climate change to a whole 'nother level of bad. We traveled to all eight Arctic countries to find out what the Arctic is, how it's changing, and why that matters to all of us. Coming September 25.Find out more at www.thresholdpodcast.org.Our reporting is made possible by listeners like you. Become part of our passionate network of supporters at: https://www.patreon.com/thresholdpodcastThis season is underwritten by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. Production partners: Montana Public Radio and PRI’s The World.

In Shishmaref, Alaska, no one’s asking if climate change is real. What they want to know is how bad it has to get before the world decides to act. Find out more at www.thresholdpodcast.org. Our reporting is made possible by listeners like you. Become part of our passionate network of supporters at https://www.patreon.com/thresholdpodcast.

When a major storm hit Shishmaref, Alaska in 2005, it became a poster child for climate change in the Arctic. Dramatic pictures of houses falling into the sea showed up in news outlets around the world. But the story here starts way before that storm. Find out more at www.thresholdpodcast.org. Our reporting is made possible by listeners like you. Become part of our passionate network of supporters at https://www.patreon.com/thresholdpodcast. This season is underwritten by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. Production partners: Montana Public Radio and PRI’s The World.