Oh give us a home where the buffalo rooooaaam … Forgive us, we’re inspired: Even as we sing, 16 bison are being released onto about 30,000 acres of their ancestral Montana prairie in an attempt to reintroduce the species in the wild there. It’s just one of several collaborative projects aiming to return the Great Plains to ecological balance and replace the region’s faltering agricultural economy and shrinking population with ecotourism and jobs centered around wildlife.

After nearly disappearing, the bison’s expanding its range from the heartland to the White House, where Charles and Camilla dined on buffalo medallions at a dinner in their honor last week.