American Bison - Buffalo Field Campaign

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management policies in the south, and by wildlife and reportable disease management policies in the north. Among North American nations, the species is most limited in Mexico, where an international trans-boundary wild herd recently occurred, but is now limited by management to a private ranch in New Mexico (U.S.), where they are classified as livestock. Several increasing herds or new projects (American Prairie Reserve, Montana; Broken Kettle Grassland Reserve, Iowa; San Luis Valley, Colorado; PANP, Saskatchewan, Canada; Janos Grassland, Chihuahua, Mexico and adjacent New Mexico; Yukon Flats, Minto Flats, and lower Innoko River areas in Alaska) have the potential to develop resilient populations on large landscapes thereby advancing the long-term security of bison as wildlife. 62 American Bison: Status Survey and Conservation Guidelines 2010 The American bison nearly qualifies for listing as Vulnerable C2a(i) under IUCN criteria and is currently listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List in light of its dependence on ongoing conservation programmes and a very limited number of large resilient populations in the wild (Gates and Aune 2008). Future progress on the conservation and recovery of the American bison will depend on significant changes in its legal status and management as wildlife by federal and state/provincial agencies, harmonisation of policies and activities among agencies at multiple levels, cooperation with landed non-profit organisations, and possibly through the creation of voluntary formal conservation standards for private commercial herds and populations managed by Native American governments.
Chapter 8 Legal Status, Policy Issues and Listings 8.1 Introduction The bison is an iconic North American wildlife species that symbolises the wild and open western prairie and boreal forest landscapes of the recent past. Although their decline, and subsequent recovery, is frequently recounted in conservation circles, the ecological recovery of “wild” bison was never really considered, and consequently their restoration has never been fully accomplished (Sanderson et al. 2008). Most plains bison in North America are found on farms and ranches (about 400,000) while relatively few (about 30,000) are located on provincial/ state, federal, and non-profit conservation reserves (see Chapter 7). Few populations are distributed broadly on native landscapes in suitable habitat, and most do not enjoy equal legal or policy status when compared to other important wildlife species such as elk (Cervus elaphus), deer (Odocoileus spp.) or pronghorn (Antilocapra americana). Wood bison are managed more commonly as wildlife within their historic range than plains bison, but suffer from fragmented distribution and disease issues that complicate their management. The purpose of this chapter is to evaluate the historic and current legal status of bison in North America and identify legal and policy obstacles relevant to conservation efforts for this species. Due to a historical paradigm that viewed bison as livestock, and past conservation measures that treated them in a manner similar to livestock, bison have not achieved a legal or policy status commensurate with a premier keystone herbivore native to prairie ecosystems. During the great restoration period of wildlife management, bison were routinely classified and managed by state/provincial and federal agencies across North America as a form of livestock, while other wildlife were classed and managed as free-roaming wild animals consistent with wild landscapes. 8.2 History of Protection and Conservation 8.2.1 Early legal and policy efforts by governments to protect plains and wood bison 8.2.1.1 Early policy development in the United States Outcries during the 19 th Century to halt the destruction of bison in the U.S. were largely ignored. In 1820, Major Stephens Lead Authors: Keith Aune and Rick Wallen Contributors: C. Cormack Gates, Kevin Ellison, Curtis H. Freese, and Rurik List expressed concern about the excessive killing of plains bison and advocated a law to prevent wanton slaughter (Dary 1989). In 1843, John J. Audubon issued warnings against the slaughter of bison (Dary 1989). Despite their pleas, no conservation policy or protective legislation was enacted for several more decades. Numerous bills to protect plains bison were introduced by members of the U.S. Congress between 1871 and 1876; none was passed into law. Although there were no successful federal interventions to halt the slaughter, several states enacted legislation on their own. Between 1864 and 1872, the states of Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana implemented statutes to reduce the killing of game, including bison. Although these laws reflected deep concern for the conservation of wildlife, they were largely ineffective owing to limited enforcement. In 1872, President Ulysses S. Grant established Yellowstone National Park to protect all resources, including bison, within its borders. The “Act to Protect the Birds and Animals in Yellowstone National Park and to Punish Crimes in Said Park” was signed by President Grover Cleveland in May 1894, providing the means necessary to halt the extirpation of the last free-ranging plains bison population in North America (Gates et al. 2005). Despite these efforts, by 1902, fewer than 25 free-ranging plains bison remained, and these were located in the remote Pelican Valley of Yellowstone National Park (YNP) (Meagher 1973). A few wood bison may have persisted into the 20 th Century in Alaska, but were soon extirpated (Stephenson et al. 2001). 8.2.1.2 Early policy development in Canada In Canada, early conservation efforts began in 1877 with the passing of the Buffalo Protection Act (Hewitt 1921). In 1883, the Ordinance for the Protection of Game was passed, but it was not effective owing to poor enforcement (Ogilvie 1979). Plains bison were extirpated from the wild in Canada by the 1880s (COSEWIC 2004), but wood bison persisted in a small population in what is now Wood Buffalo National Park (WBNP). The national parks system first became involved in plains bison conservation in 1897, when three animals were purchased from Charles Goodnight in Texas. However, the first significant contribution by the Government of Canada was made in 1907 when it purchased the privately owned Pablo-Allard herd in Montana. The government of Canada enacted the Unorganised Territories Game Preservation Act in 1894, partly as a response American Bison: Status Survey and Conservation Guidelines 2010 63
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American Bison Status Survey and Co
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American Bison Status Survey and Co
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Table of Contents Acknowledgements
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6.3 Demographics ..................
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9.6 Active Management: Handling, He
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This manuscript is the product of m
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ABS American Bison Society ABSG Ame
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The publication of this IUCN Americ
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and foothills. Bison have a profoun
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Chapter 1 Introduction: The Context
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composition and function, as well a
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Chapter 2 History of Bison in North
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Figure 2.1 Original ranges of plain
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Charles Alloway (Manitoba), Charles
Page 29 and 30: nomadic “Plains Indian Culture”
Page 31 and 32: Chapter 3 Taxonomy and Nomenclature
Page 33 and 34: demonstrate that Bison and Bos were
Page 35 and 36: from their original habitat near th
Page 37 and 38: Chapter 4 Genetics As a science, po
Page 39 and 40: Selection for diversity in one syst
Page 41 and 42: cross, however, the latter is more
Page 43 and 44: the conservation of the wild specie
Page 45 and 46: Chapter 5 Reportable or Notifiable
Page 47 and 48: one) followed by its widespread dis
Page 49 and 50: cattle at similar levels to S19 (Ch
Page 51 and 52: long as 156 days post-infection. So
Page 53 and 54: and elk herds migrate across severa
Page 55 and 56: These concepts are being developed
Page 57 and 58: Chapter 6 General Biology, Ecology
Page 59 and 60: leave the herd prior to calving or
Page 61 and 62: historically dependent on a combina
Page 63 and 64: 6.2.1.2.1 Northern mixed grasslands
Page 65 and 66: woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus
Page 67 and 68: season: Wolfe and Kimball (1989) re
Page 69 and 70: Table 6.4 Age-specific reproductive
Page 71 and 72: 6.3.4 Population growth rates The r
Page 73 and 74: Chapter 7 Numerical and Geographic
Page 75 and 76: Sixty-two plains bison and 11 wood
Page 77 and 78: Figure 7.4 Representation of plains
Page 79: Plate 7.3 Male plains bison sparrin
Page 83 and 84: administrations, and the increasing
Page 85 and 86: Table 8.1 Current legal status of p
Page 87 and 88: Table 8.1 (continued) Country/ Stat
Page 93 and 94: 8.4 Legal and Policy Obstacles Hind
Page 95 and 96: 8.5 Overcoming Obstacles to the Eco
Page 97 and 98: indigenous peoples’ land (Dudley
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Page 101 and 102: 8.5.5.3 Mexico Since the original r
Page 103 and 104: Chapter 9 Conservation Guidelines f
Page 105 and 106: animals are proportionately removed
Page 107 and 108: 6. Maintenance number and growth ra
Page 109 and 110: 4. Health and disease All attempts
Page 111 and 112: Table 9.4 Important considerations
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Page 115 and 116: may not have been validated. Testin
Page 117 and 118: 2) A tendency to flee if approached
Page 119 and 120: 2. Determine the required scope of
Page 121 and 122: Chapter 10 Guidelines for Ecologica
Page 123 and 124: • Creating education, awareness a
Page 125 and 126: 10.3 The “Ecosystem Approach” f
Page 127 and 128: anywhere without engaging stakehold
Page 129 and 130: Interventions (e.g., supplemental f
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Agabriel, J. and Petit, M. 1996. Qu
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Byerly, R.M., Cooper, J.R., Meltzer
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Dragon D.C. and Rennie, R.P. 1995.
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Gilpin, M.E. and Soulé, M.E. 1986.
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Joern, A. 2005. Disturbance by fire
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Matthews, S.B. 1991. An assessment
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Possingham, H.P., Davies, I., Noble
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Shaw, J.H. 1995. How many bison ori
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van Zyll de Jong, C.G. 1986. A Syst
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Appendix A North American conservat
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Plains bison (continued) State/Prov
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INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATIO
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