TULSA, Okla. — A monument is being built in south Tulsa to honor one of Oklahoma’s most recognizable animals.

The Tulsa Herd Grand Monument will honor bison and the successful effort to raise their population in the last century.

The monument will be installed at LaFortune Park near East 61st Street and South Yale Avenue in south Tulsa.

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The Tulsa Herd The Tulsa Herd Grand Monument will be installed at LaFortune Park in south Tulsa to honor bison and the successful effort to raise their population in the last century. (NatureWorks)

NatureWorks is building the monument, and partners with local, state and national organizations to preserve and protect Oklahoma wildlife and their habitats.

NatureWorks said the bison population numbers had dwindled to about one thousand at the turn of the 20th century. Concerned citizens, including President Theodore Roosevelt, formed the American Bison Society to help relocate 15 bison from the Bronx Zoo to Oklahoma’s Wichita Mountains Wildlife refuge to start to repopulate the West.

The Wildlife Conservation Society continues working to grow the bison population in the West alongside the InterTribal Buffalo Council and the National Bison Association.

More information about the project will be released this summer.

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