American Bison - Buffalo Field Campaign

wildlife if APF agrees and if there is public support for such
legal action. APF intends to purchase up to 405,000 hectares
(one million acres) of land for a grassland preserve upon
which wild bison would be allowed. In addition, the American
Prairie Reserve leases adjacent BLM grazing allotments and
recently modified these to change the class of livestock for
these allotments from cattle to bison. Similarly, the USFWS
has authority to establish bison on the Charles M. Russell
Wildlife Refuge adjacent to the American Prairie Reserve.
The combined efforts of these two agencies, and other
conservation partners, could result in bison restoration on a
very large native grassland habitat.
8.5.5.5 Tribal initiatives
Many tribal initiatives are also underway across North America.
The ITBC was formed in 1990 and has 57 member tribes
managing over 15,000 bison (http://www.itbcbison.com/index.
php). Its stated goal is to restore bison to Indian Nations in a
manner that is compatible with their spiritual and cultural beliefs
and practices. Congress appropriated funding for tribal bison
84 American Bison: Status Survey and Conservation Guidelines 2010
programmes in June of 1991, and has approved appropriations
for ITBC annually since then. This action offered renewed hope
that the sacred relationship between Indian people and the
“Buffalo” might not only be saved, but would, in time, flourish.
Specific initiatives include the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe,
which has started an 8,900-hectare Tribal Wildlife Refuge. The
Rosebud Sioux Tribe has officially endorsed “The Million Acre
Project” developed by the Great Plains Restoration Council
centred on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota
(Freese et al. 2007). Another potential initiative is identified in a
strategic plan being developed by the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe
in South Dakota (Lower Brule Sioux Tribe 10 year strategic plan;
Lower Brule Sioux Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Recreation).
The Wind River Reservation in Wyoming is working on a
management plan that would restore wild free-ranging bison
to available habitat on that tribal landscape. The Fort Belknap
Reservation in Montana has requested Yellowstone bison from
the state/federal quarantine facility. A comprehensive evaluation
of the restoration potential of North American tribal/first nation’s
landscapes and continental conservation priority assessments
for those landscapes has not been completed.