Develop a group consensus that could be submitted as an amicus curiae (friend of court) brief to a judge assigned to rule on the merits of implementing a Buffalo Commons proposal.  Be sure to add your names at the end of the statement.

We think the Buffalo Commons is an innovative idea.  The Buffalo Commons would restore some of the land that is being negatively impacted by humans and revert it back to a more healthy natural landscape, to inhabit wild buffalo and all the other organisms that go along with it.  Even though it will diminish the populations of small towns, it will be benefit more people in the end, and several other beneficial outcomes will occur if this were to happen successfully. It would make use of the large areas within the Great Plains that are currently unusable either because of the poor nutrient soils or the lack desire for people to want to live in those areas.  Although some of North Dakota's land holds the richest soil in the U.S., the Buffalo Commons would not affect those areas. The land in the Buffalo Commons area are useless for farmers so why not give it back to the buffalo?  

The biggest issue surrounding this idea is that some people may not want to leave their homes and there would be a substantial cost to remove all of the residents from the area and compensate them for their homes.  However, a lot of the small towns don't have the necessities and people to keep going.  The population's in these towns are so small, that the upkeeps don't factor into keeping them viable anymore.  Most of the residents don't even want to live in these smaller regions because they feel disconnected. We believe it is a great solution to compensate them for their homes that otherwise would not sell.  The land will be put to better use, returning to it's natural beauty.  It will allow for a space where the earth can keep a healthy balance to compensate for some of the negative impacts humans have on the environment.  In the long run the better prospect is to save the land.  Also, another benefit the Buffalo Commons would have is it creates a large number of new jobs: with the deconstruction project, maintenance of the buffalo area, research, and the regulation of the herds population.

Brooke Boroos, Amber Johnson, Ashley Salisbury, Kelsey Michels, Amber Meemken, Christian Bennes, Amanda Kinzler, Eric Meulebroeck