Defenders' Experts
Bison: In the Field
Defenders of Wildlife is working to restore bison herds on tribal lands and public lands across the Great Plains.
Restoring Bison Herds on Tribal Lands
Many Indian tribes across the Great Plains and beyond are doing an incredible job – with few financial resources – of restoring bison to tribal lands. Defenders is thrilled to help with these exciting efforts.
Fort Belknap Reservation, Montana
The Fort Belknap Reservation bison herd was started in 1974 with 35 bison. Defenders of Wildlife provided funds to add more over the years and purchased supplemental feed during times of drought. Meanwhile, the bison pasture increased from 1,900 acres to 15,000. Knowing that bison and prairie dogs have a long history of mutually beneficial co-existence, tribal authorities granted prairie dogs on the pastures protection from shooting and poisoning, a rare reprieve out West.
In 2009, Defenders helped Fort Belknap buy the lease to an additional 7,500 acre grazing allotment to expand the tribal bison pasture to 21,000 acres, large enough for about 650 bison.
Defenders is also working to support Fort Belknap’s goal of restoring a genetically-pure Yellowstone National Park bison population to the Reservation. Most bison have cattle genes which compromises their wild characteristics. Yellowstone bison, however, are pure bison, and a few will be made available to tribes and/or others who commit to managing them and their offspring as wildlife rather than as livestock. Fort Belknap Reservation is on the short list of places to receive these important Yellowstone bison.
Bison grazing during a summer storm, Fort Belknap Reservation, Montana.
Fort Peck Reservation, Montana
In 2001, Defenders purchased bison from the Fort Belknap tribal bison herd to start a new bison herd at nearby Fort Peck Reservation in eastern Montana. Robbie Magnan, Director of Fort Peck Fish and Game, has successfully managed the new herd. Needing more room to grow, Defenders helped buy the grazing lease for an additional 4,500 acres, expanding the tribe’s bison refuge to 10,000 acres which will allow the herd to expand to 250 animals.
Defenders is also working to support Fort Peck’s goal of restoring a genetically-pure Yellowstone National Park bison population to the Reservation. Most bison have cattle genes which compromises their wild characteristics. Yellowstone bison, however, are pure bison, and a few will be made available to tribes and/or others who commit to managing them and their offspring as wildlife rather than as livestock. Like Fort Belknap Reservation, Fort Peck Reservation is also on the short list of places to receive these important Yellowstone bison.
In 2009, the Montana Senate attempted to stop Fort Peck’s effort to restore bison by passing Senate Bill 337 – a bill to prevent relocation within Montana of disease-free Yellowstone bison. This bill’s sponsor specifically targeted his legislation against Fort Peck Reservation because of his opposition to their bison program. Defenders took action to prevent this unfair bill from becoming state law by testifying in the state legislature, organizing opposition, and alerting our Montana members to contact their legislators – 239 of whom did. Our efforts succeeded, and the Montana House of Representatives ended the bill’s chance to become law. Read a guest editorial that appeared in the Billings Gazette on this bill.
Fort Peck Fish and Game Director Robbie Magnan looks out over the tribes’ bison herd, Fort Peck, Montana
Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota
Individual tribal members at Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota, are cooperating on a community bison restoration project, called the Knife Chief Community Buffalo Project. In 2007 Defenders helped pay for grazing leases to allow the bison pasture to expand from 1,200 acres to 3,000 acres. This will allow the herd to expand.
All told, tribal reservations now have more bison than all federal parks and refuges.
Restoring Bison Herds on Public Lands
Only a few National Parks and National Wildlife Refuges have wild bison herds. Defenders is helping restore bison to more areas on public lands.
Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge
A recent success began with the return of 16 wild bison to Colorado’s Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge in early 2007. Absent for over 100 years, their return was embraced by politicians, local citizens, Native American representatives and federal employees. Prior to the bison’s return, more than 1,000 Defenders members across Colorado sent comments in support of this plan, helping the Refuge gain the public support it needed to restore the bison.
Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge
Defenders of Wildlife is working to return wild bison to other public lands as well. Specifically, we hope to see wild bison in the 1 million acre Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge in Montana. This refuge is beginning a process to revise its management plan, and Defenders will continue to advocate for the restoration of bison to this landscape.
Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota
A truly wild bison herd needs room to roam. Our current protected areas in the Great Plains are just too small to accommodate wild bison. Defenders is working to help expand key protected areas so that wild bison can be wild bison. Specifically, we are helping support land acquisitions to expand Badlands and Wind Cave National Parks to allow larger bison herds in those two important bison Parks.
Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota contains a very important wild bison herd, but the Park is not big enough to maintain a large herd. An adjoining property is for sale – the Casey property; if added to the Park, this would increase the Park by 20 percent and allow a significant increase in bison. Defenders is educating members of Congress of the importance of acquiring this ranch.
Badlands National Park, South Dakota
Badlands National Park also contains an important bison herd, but the Park needs to grow to allow more bison to roam. One landowner on the edge of the Park wants to sell to the Park specifically to allow more bison. A new management plan for the Park proposed a boundary expansion to include this property. Now Congress must act. Defenders is working with this landowner and the Park to make it happen.
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