American Bison - Buffalo Field Campaign

8.5.5.3 Mexico
Since the original range of bison extended only a short distance
in to the northern portion of Mexico, there are few suitable
locations where they would be expected to successfully re-
colonise available habitats in their former range. The large
grasslands of the Janos-Casas Grande in north-western Mexico
is the best location for bison conservation efforts, and a large
biosphere reserve is proposed for this area to protect free-
ranging plains bison.
A recent series of stakeholder and science workshops held
in this boundary area have identified conservation needs
and potential strategies for advancing bison recovery in this
boundary area of Mexico, including reintroducing a plains bison
conservation herd in Mexico. In November 2009, 23 plains
bison were translocated from Wind Cave National Park in South
Dakota to TNC’s Rancho El Uno Ecological Reserve located in
the Janos Biosphere Reserve in Chihuahua State. The project
is part of a national programme for recovery of priority species
in Mexico and an international collaboration on wildlife and
habitat conservation in North America. The U.S. National Park
Service donated the bison to The Working Group for Recovery
of Bison in Mexico (El Grupo de Trabajo para la Recuperación
del Bisonte en México), which is led by the National Commission
of Protected Natural Areas (la Comisión Nacional de Áreas
Naturales Protegidas). These bison are the foundation stock
for a breeding herd that will be used to repopulate other areas,
with the ultimate goal of restoring the ecological role of bison
in the grasslands of northern Mexico. The bison will provide
opportunities for ecological research and will serve as a focal
species for educational outreach. Another potentially important
area for the recovery of bison in Mexico is the Columbia Valley, in
the State of Coahuila, where a privately owned herd moves over
a very large area and is minimally managed. Bison were native to
the state of Coahuila until the second half of the 19 th Century.
8.5.5.4 Non-governmental organisations
TNC and NCC have played a lead role in North America in
developing conservation programmes involving bison. TNC
(eight herds) and NCC (one herd) already manage nine bison
herds on grassland preserves in U.S. and Canada respectively.
TNC is principally using bison as a native grazer and is
considering adding bison to additional preserves in the U.S.
and Canada. Specifically, the NCC is implementing a restoration
strategy for the Old Man on His Back Conservation Area in
Alberta, with a herd already established with bison from EINP
(Freese et al. 2007).
In 2005, APF and WWF implemented a privately funded
conservation effort restoring bison to the American Prairie
Reserve in southern Phillips County, Montana. Plains bison
were obtained from Wind Cave National Park. Under Montana
regulations, they are currently classified as privately owned
livestock, however, the Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission
has authority, under Montana law, to classify these bison as
Plate 8.1 Plains bison were reintroduced to the arid grasslands of the
Janos Valley in northern Chihuahua State, Mexico in November 2009.
The bison reside on Rancho El Uno Ecological Reserve, a property of The
Nature Conservancy. Photo: Rurik List.
American Bison: Status Survey and Conservation Guidelines 2010 83