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Today, Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux leaders and Defenders of Wildlife transferred 11 more bison from Yellowstone National Park to the Fort Peck Indian Reservation. After today, 104 bison will have been successfully transferred to the reservation. This is the fourth relocation since April 2019 under a new program that diverts disease-free Yellowstone bison from slaughter to tribal-led restoration efforts.

Last week, the Department of the Interior (DOI) announced the release of the Bison Conservation Initiative (BCI), a comprehensive plan encouraging cooperation between Interior bureaus and their partners toward conserving American bison. The 10-year plan will apply to all 19 Interior Department herds which collectively contain 11,000 of the 21,000 bison managed as wildlife across the United States.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks today announced the completion of Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the restoration of bison in the state. This EIS is the first official decision in favor of reintroducing wild free-ranging bison to their historic range outside of Yellowstone National Park. The EIS paves the way for the agency to now consider site-specific proposals for the state’s management of bison as wildlife.

Today, 55 bison were transferred from Yellowstone National Park to the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes, marking the first major relocation by the park under a new program that diverts disease-free Yellowstone bison from slaughter to tribal-led restoration efforts.

The first Tribal Buffalo Conservation Summit will be held Nov. 1-3, bringing together tribal leaders, tribal wildlife and cultural representatives, and conservation experts to share their management strategies and discuss the important ecological, cultural and economic benefits of bison restoration.