The Department of the Interior (DOI) announced an initiative with government agencies, states and Tribes to restore populations of the American bison and the prairie grassland ecosystem using the “best available science” and “Indigenous knowledge.”
Secretary’s Order 3410 will establish a Bison Working Group (BWG) with government agencies and bison equities to develop a Bison Shared Stewardship Plan. The plan will provide the framework for American bison restoration, including strengthening long-term conservation partnerships.
“The best science shows that returning bison to grasslands can enhance soil development, restore native plants and wildlife, and promote carbon sequestration, thereby providing benefits for agriculture, outdoor recreation and Tribes,” the order states.
According to the order, BWG will begin work on a strategy to ensure the long-term conservation of genetic diversity and identify approaches for new, healthy herds of wild bison through “translocation of bison, while minimizing cattle introgression.” Within 90 days of the order, the U.S. Park Service will initiate talks with Tribes and other conservation partners to increase quarantine capacity for bison in Yellowstone National Park to undergo disease testing for transfer of bison to Tribes.
The order also directs the Bureau of Indian Affairs to create a Bison Management Apprenticeship program for training and knowledge sharing for Tribes with bison on their lands. The apprenticeship program will include opportunities for Tribal youth to work at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service refuges and national parks and learn a variety of bison management practices.
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland from the Laguna Pueblo said in a statement, “American bison is inextricably intertwined with Indigenous culture, grassland ecology and American history.
“Significant work remains to not only ensure that bison will remain a viable species but also to restore grassland ecosystems, strengthen rural economies dependent on grassland health and provide for the return of bison to Tribally owned and ancestral lands,” Haaland said.
According to the DOI, American bison once numbered 60 million in North America and were driven to near extinction in the 19th century through hunting. In the 20th century, conservation and restoration efforts led by former President Theodore Roosevelt’s support increased bison numbers from 500 to 15,000 head. DOI currently manages 11,000 bison in herds across 4.6 million acres of U.S. public lands in 12 states. The Yellowstone National Park herd is the largest, with approximately 4,800 animals.
Industry opposition
Jim Magagna, executive vice president of Wyoming Stock Growers Association, told WLJthe organization is opposed and concerned about the announced expansion. Magagna raised concerns about whether the bison would be allowed to roam on public lands and potentially onto private lands. Magagna also posed the question of whether grazing allotments would be canceled or reduced in areas where the bison are introduced and whether ranchers would be compensated for injured livestock. He also expressed concern about testing protocols to ensure bison are free from brucellosis, as well as other transmissible diseases.
Sigrid Johannes, director of the Public Lands Council and director of government affairs for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, told WLJthe announcement is an opportunity for DOI to build on the work ranchers are doing to restore the prairie grassland ecosystem, but stopping the work ranchers are doing “won’t serve anyone’s goals for the land.”
“Thousands of the rural economies that Haaland referenced depend on cattle grazing for their livelihood, and those livelihoods are actively threatened by brucellosis and other bison-borne diseases,” Johannes said. “We recommend that the Bison Working Group consult the science and acknowledge that cattle and sheep fill the same vital ecological role today that bison herds played before their decline more than a century ago. Cattle alone provide more than $24 billion in ecosystem services nationwide.”
Tribal support
The Coalition of Large Tribes (COLT)—an inter-tribal organization representing the interests of the more than 50 Indian Tribes—applauded the announcement.
COLT Chairman Marvin Weatherwax said the order “shows wonderful leadership in prioritizing and funding bison restoration for tribal herds and giving Tribes a seat at the table” for a species “central to Native American culture and our Nation’s history.”
Weatherwax continued the funding starts to correct the “historical inequity” of a lack of bison funding and puts it on par with funding with “the well-funded fisheries of the Pacific Northwest and Great Lakes.”
Funding will be provided with $25 million from the Inflation Reduction Act for bison restoration.
COLT Executive Director O.J. Semans said the Tribes are ready to work with agencies and others “on environmental and agriculture issues to implement Interior’s important Inflation Reduction Act investment in our Prairie Grassland ecosystems.”
Backcountry Hunters & Anglers President and CEO Land Tawney commended the announcement, noting that most U.S. grasslands have already been eliminated and that grasslands and sagebrush landscapes are critical to a range of wildlife species, including mule deer, pronghorn and upland birds, as well as bison.
“We applaud their commitment and look forward to helping advance the work that will anchor our public lands conservation both immediately and in the longer term,” Tawney said in a statement. “In particular, we are excited to work with Tribes, governmental agencies, conservation partners and hunters to restore robust populations of bison on our nation’s lands.”
The plan to reintroduce bison conflicts with a resolution in Montana opposing bison introduction in the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge in northern Montana. Senate Joint Resolution 14 states Montana has control over wildlife management in its jurisdiction, and placing bison in the refuge would jeopardize livestock grazing and increase disease transmission. The resolution passed in the Montana Senate and moved onto the House.
American Prairie’s long-term goal is to piece together a roughly 3.2 million-acre expanse, including the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge, and have thousands of bison and other wildlife.
A draft plan from BWG should be completed by Dec. 31. — Charles Wallace, WLJ editor
