While contemporaries and historians alike hailed the establishment of
Buffalo National Park in Wainwright, Alberta as a wildlife saving
effort, the political climate of the early 20th century worked against
it. The Canadian Parks Branch was never sufficiently funded to operate
BNP effectively or to remedy the crises the animals faced as a result.
Cross-breeding experiments with bison and domestic cattle proved
unfruitful. Attempts at commercializing the herd had no success.
Ultimately, the Department of National Defence repurposed the park for
military training and the bison disappeared once more.