Bison boost for Native American lands
US officials will work to restore more large bison herds to Native American lands under an order from Interior Secretary Deb Haaland that calls for the government to tap into Indigenous knowledge in its efforts to conserve the animals, an icon of the American West.
Haaland has also announced US$25 million (NZ$40.1m) in federal spending for bison conservation. The money will build new herds, transfer more bison from federal to tribal lands, and forge new bison management agreements with tribes.
American bison, also known as buffalo, have bounced back from their near-extinction due to commercial hunting in the 1800s. But they remain absent from most of the grasslands they once occupied, and many tribes have struggled to restore their deep historical connections to the animals.
As many as 60 million bison once roamed North America, moving in vast herds that were central to the culture and survival of numerous Native American groups.
Haaland, of Laguna Pueblo in New Mexico, is the first Native American to serve as a US Cabinet secretary. She has championed tribal concerns on issues ranging from wildlife conservation to energy development.
She said the decimation of bison by European settlers eliminated the primary food source for many tribes and opened the way for their land to be taken away.
The return of bison in some locations is considered a conservation success. But Haaland said they remained ‘‘functionally extinct’’, and more work was needed to return the animals to tribal lands and restore the grasslands they depended on.
Across the US, 82 tribes now have more than 20,000 bison in 65 herds. Numbers have been growing in recent years, along with the desire among Native Americans to reclaim stewardship of the animals.
Many of the tribes’ bison came from
US agencies, which over the past two decades have transferred thousands of the animals to thin out governmentcontrolled herds so they don’t outgrow the land.
Bison reintroductions could put the Biden Administration at odds with state officials in Montana, however. Republican lawmakers there have resisted returning the animals to federal lands, saying that as populations grow, they can cause problems for ranchers and present a public safety threat.