Despite being the closest relatives of domestic cattle native to North America, bison were never domesticated by Native Americans.
Later attempts of domestication by Europeans prior to the 20th century met with limited success.
Bison were described as having a "wild and ungovernable temper"; they can jump close to 1.8 m (6 ft) vertically, and run 55–65 km/h (35–40 mph) when agitated.
This agility and speed, combined with their great size and weight, makes bison herds difficult to confine, as they can easily escape or destroy most fencing systems, including most razor wire.
The most successful systems involve large, 6-metre (20 ft) fences made from welded steel I beams sunk at least 1.8 m (6 ft) into concrete.
These fencing systems, while expensive, require very little maintenance.
Furthermore, making the fence sections overlap so the grassy areas beyond are not visible prevents the buffalo from trying to get to new range.

About 500,000 bison currently exist on private lands and around 30,000 on public lands which includes environmental and government preserves.
According to the IUCN, roughly 15,000 bison are considered wild, free-range bison not primarily confined by fencing.

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) has reintroduced bison to over a dozen nature preserves around the United States.
In October 2016, TNC established the easternmost bison herd in the country, at Kankakee Sands Nature Preserve in Morocco, Newton County, Indiana.
 In 2014, U.S Tribes and Canadian First Nations signed a treaty to help with the restoration of bison, the first to be signed in nearly 150 years.
Despite being the closest relatives of domestic cattle native to North America, bison were never domesticated by Native Americans. Later attempts of domestication by Europeans prior to the 20th century met with limited success. Bison were described as having a "wild and ungovernable temper"; they can jump close to 1.8 m (6 ft) vertically, and run 55–65 km/h (35–40 mph) when agitated. This agility and speed, combined with their great size and weight, makes bison herds difficult to confine, as they can easily escape or destroy most fencing systems, including most razor wire. The most successful systems involve large, 6-metre (20 ft) fences made from welded steel I beams sunk at least 1.8 m (6 ft) into concrete. These fencing systems, while expensive, require very little maintenance. Furthermore, making the fence sections overlap so the grassy areas beyond are not visible prevents the buffalo from trying to get to new range.
About 500,000 bison currently exist on private lands and around 30,000 on public lands which includes environmental and government preserves. According to the IUCN, roughly 15,000 bison are considered wild, free-range bison not primarily confined by fencing.
The Nature Conservancy (TNC) has reintroduced bison to over a dozen nature preserves around the United States. In October 2016, TNC established the easternmost bison herd in the country, at Kankakee Sands Nature Preserve in Morocco, Newton County, Indiana.  In 2014, U.S Tribes and Canadian First Nations signed a treaty to help with the restoration of bison, the first to be signed in nearly 150 years.
American bison