People who dismiss Highlands Ranch as just another master-planned community might be surprised to learn that hidden behind a small ridgeline, the south Denver suburb cradles 13 square miles of undisturbed shrubland and forest. The conservation parcel, named the Backcountry Wilderness Area (BWA), protects an ark’s worth of critters, including elk, mountain lions, and, starting this month, a particularly precious Colorado species: bison.
Though no longer found in the wild in Colorado, bison have roamed the Front Range since 1914, when the Denver Zoo and Denver Parks and Recreation moved 18 of the animals to Genesee Park; in 1938, another herd was let loose in Daniels Park. The latter has literally had their fill of Daniels—they consume so much vegetation that their meals sometimes need to be supplemented with hay. Fortunately, they have a kind neighbor to their immediate south: the BWA. It’s managed by the Highlands Ranch Community Association, which agreed to open the preserve’s adjoining fenceline and allow the bison to feast on a 150-acre platter of native greens…