Returning Home

These big, brown, furry animals are Plains bison. They are the United States’ national mammal. It’s believed that before the mid-1800s, there were as many as 60 million Plains bison in North America. They roamed the Great Plains. But the bison became endangered because of hunting. At one point, only a few hundred bison remained.

Today conservationists are working to protect the animals. Now there are around 30,000 Plains bison. Many live in national parks, like Grand Canyon National Park. The park is home to 600 bison. 

That’s great news for the bison. But now there’s a problem: There are too many bison for the park to hold. Experts are working to find new homes for some. “Reducing the herd size will protect the park ecosystem and resources,” says Joëlle Baird, a National Park Service ranger involved in relocating the bison.

Grand Canyon National Park is huge—larger than the state of Rhode Island. But it has only enough food and space for about 200 bison. Meanwhile, Native American tribal lands don’t have enough bison. Native people call bison “buffalo.” The buffalo are a very important part of Native American culture.  

Scientists and conservationists from the national park are teaming up with officials from the InterTribal Buffalo Council. That’s a group of people from 69 Native tribes. Its goal is to preserve the relationship between Native tribes and buffalo. It wants to bring the animals back to lands belonging to Native tribes.

“It’s important to reestablish that connection with the buffalo that Natives once had,” says Troy Heinert. He’s from the InterTribal Buffalo Council. “We’re trying to help heal the lands and heal the landscape.”

It’s good that bison numbers are growing. But too many in one place can damage an area. The bison can eat so many plants that they never grow back. The bison also take up so much space that other animals don’t have room to live. But having just the right amount of bison can help an ecosystem. 

“Buffalo’s slobber and snot hold microbes that help grasses grow and insects thrive, which then bring birds to help pollinate plants,” says Heinert. “And then they roll around to create wallows that catch water.” These small ponds become new sources of water for plants, Heinert says. 

Bison are also good at changing their behavior so that they can live in new places. When bison first started moving into the forests in Grand Canyon National Park, they learned to move quietly through the landscape to avoid attracting attention from people. This gained the bison the nickname “Forest Ninja Bison.”

The relocation is good for Native tribes, good for the national park, good for the environment, and good for the bison. Since the program started in 2018, 182 Plains bison have been transferred to Native lands (see Moving Bison, below). The conservationists are not done yet. “We are committed to continue to work with the InterTribal Buffalo Council to manage bison herds,” says Baird.