American Bison - Buffalo Field Campaign

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