Conservation of American bison
[2] Recovery began in the late 19th century with a handful of individuals independently saving the last surviving bison and the government efforts to protect the remnant herd in Yellowstone National Park.
[3] Before the 19th century, bison were a keystone species for the native shortgrass prairie habitat as their grazing pressure altered the food web and landscapes in ways that improve biodiversity.
[7] The bison coexisted with elk, deer, pronghorn, swift fox, black-footed ferrets, black-tailed prairie dogs, white-tailed jackrabbits, bears, wolves, coyotes, and cougars.
The bison enjoyed the regrowth of plants previously cropped by the rodents which reduced the grass cover, making it easier to spot predators.
[11] Such abundance made the bison a critical part of Native American culture for thousands of years: providing food as well as materials for clothing, shelter, tools, and more.
[16] The country’s highest generals, politicians, and President Ulysses S. Grant saw the taking away their main food source by the destruction of buffalo as the best way to accomplish their removal from the landscape.
The rapid slaughter of bison also surged when a tanning method was developed that allowed the soft hide to be made into tougher, more desirable leather that was sent to an international market.
921,[21] To prevent the useless slaughter of buffaloes within the territories of the United States, but President Ulysses S. Grant did not sign it, resulting in a pocket veto.
[30] By the early 1900s, the Pablo-Allard herd was said to be the largest collection of the bison remaining in the U.S.[31] Pablo was notified in 1904 that the government was opening up the Flathead Reservation for settlement by selling off parcels of land.
Known as the Lacey Act of 1894, the law provided punishment for poaching on public lands, resolved jurisdictional issues and helped Yellowstone's managers to start recovering the bison population.
Comanche Chief Quanah Parker came to the train station in Cache where the crates were transferred to horse-drawn wagons and hauled 13 miles (21 km) to the preserve.
[20] The bison at Lamar Buffalo Ranch eventually began to mix with the free-roaming population in Yellowstone Park and by 1954, their numbers had grown to roughly 1,300 animals.
[18] Bison reproduce and survive at relatively high rates compared to many other large, wild mammals, so even as the population recovered Yellowstone managers limited its growth with frequent culling.
Large herds on extensive landscapes where natural limiting factors are present with minimal human interaction are seen as the best method to achieve the full potential of bison.
[51] A widespread, collaborative effort has led to the establishment of bison herds that include attention to heritage genetics and minimal cattle introgression.
[52] Tribal, federal, state, and non-governmental organizations conservation herds are managed with a focus on protecting wild bison and preserving their genetic diversity.
[23] The development of conservation biology included the restoration of ecological processes with an emphasis on the impact upon the ecosystem beyond the importance of the bison at the level of an individual species.
The US Department of the Interior (DOI) is the principal conservation agency of the United States and is responsible for the majority of the nationally owned public lands as well as its natural and cultural resources.
[58] Using a metapopulation management strategy maintains genetic diversity and integrity through an interagency, science-based approach to restore gene flow across DOI bison conservation herds.
Capture is periodically required to manage herd size and provides opportunities to donate live bison in support of partner conservation and restoration efforts.
[62] State and federal officials were pressured to prevent the spread of the disease as ranchers worry it could lead to Montana losing its brucellosis-free status.
[18] There have been no cases of bison transmitting brucellosis directly to cattle, in part due to efforts by federal and state agencies to maintain separation between these animals.
[65] The state of Montana now allows bison to occupy some habitat adjacent to the park that was previously off-limits, including year-round in some areas, which is a major conservation advancement.
[45] Large parts of their historic winter ranges are no longer available due to human development and states only allow limited numbers of bison in areas near the park.
[63] During 2005–2012, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) developed and verified procedures for identifying Yellowstone bison that don't have brucellosis.
[63] The initial plan was for the bison that completed the pilot program to be moved to public or tribal lands but the state was not ready to approve any of the proposed locations in 2010.
[71] Sixty-three animals from the Yellowstone quarantine corrals were transferred in March to the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes who started a conservation herd at their Fort Peck Reservation.
[79] Thousands of the animals culled from government-controlled herds have been donated to Native American tribes through tribal requests of parks or refuges or by way of the ITBC.
The Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes would complete the quarantine program for 55 male bison who had been captured at Stephens Creek in the northwest corner of park in March 2018.
Tribal agencies would retain the ability to move bison; however, doing so would require permits and could face additional challenges, particularly when crossing state lines.
