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Bison have been revered and incorporated into many Native American cultures over millennia and hold a special place in our national heritage. |
North American plains bison (Bison bison bison), numbered
more than 25 million in the 17th century and occupied the continental United
States, southern Canada and northern Mexico. Due to overhunting and
loss of habitat, the species was nearly extinct by the end of the 19th century,
limited to fewer than 30 animals in Yellowstone National Park and individuals
in zoos or private captivity.
Through the combined efforts of state, tribal and federal governments, conservation
groups, and private ranchers and landowners, the plains bison had been brought
back to relative abundance by the 21st century, with more than 500,000 animals
now present in North America, mostly in private ownership. The Department
of the Interior also manages almost 7,000 bison in seven national wildlife
refuges and five national parks. There are 4,000 free-roaming wood
bison (bison bison athabascae), a subspecies, in Canada.
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On October 28, 2008, Secretary Kempthorne announced the Department of the
Interior Bison Conservation Initiative to strategically manage wild bison
on Interior’s lands for their ecological and cultural value. The
Bison Conservation Initiative provides a framework to address the conservation
issues of Interior’s bison herds and to promote cooperative bison conservation
through partnerships with states, Native American tribes, landowners, agricultural
interests, conservationists and others interested in bison health and recovery.
The framework acknowledges the ecological and cultural role of bison on
the American landscape and proposes specific actions to better manage and
integrate bison populations on select Interior lands in future years.
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The bison serves as a symbol for natural resource stewardship for the Department of the Interior and the National Park Service. |
In
appropriate areas, the presence of bison in adequate numbers may help support
the restoration or maintenance of other native species and habitats. Observing
bison ranging freely over the landscape will provide inspiration and enjoyment
to a diverse range of visitors to our public lands.
The Bison Conservation Initiative clearly recognizes the important role that
the Department of Agriculture, States, Tribes, and conservation organizations
play in bison conservation, and no effort for a Bison Conservation Initiative
strategy can move forward without the collaborative efforts of all interested
parties.
New Interior Actions for the Initiative
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Action Item 1: Prevent, control, or eliminate
non-native diseases impacting Bison conservation.
- Action Item 2: Actively
pursue improved efforts to strategically manage wild bison by building
the bison working group, and pursue improved efforts by the Department
of the Interior to create bison metapopulations of herds with high levels
of bison genetic integrity, diversity, and not impacted by non-native diseases.
- Action Item 3: Manage
DOI herds through conservation of genetic variation and natural selection.
- Action Item 4: Facilitate
collaborative Bison conservation projects.
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The image of vast herds of North American bison grazing on the western plains is an iconic symbol of the American frontier. |
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