Conservation of the buffalo came slowly. In May, 1894, Congress enacted a law making buffalo hunting in Yellowstone National Park illegal. Eight years later, money was appropriated to purchase 21 buffalo from private herds to build up the Yellowstone herd. With adequate protection, this herd has steadily increased until it numbers almost 4,000 animals today. Photo by N.A. Forsyth, 1909, taken near Butte, Montana. Vintage photo restored by Kathy Alexander.