Those who test negative for the disease could go into quarantine and then are transferred to the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes in Montana to complete another round of testing. “Restoring buffalo to Tribal lands, and supporting those efforts, ensures the permanence and sovereignty of Tribal Nations and People, restores and preserves culture, and helps to balance some of the major disparities which exist within Indian Country today relating to health, access to food and resources, economics, opportunity, and hope.”ĭuring the winter months, buffalo are captured at the boundaries of Yellowstone National Park and tested for the bacterial disease brucellosis, which can spread from animals to humans. “Buffalo are a deeply integral part of the culture and histories of many Tribal peoples across North America, and likewise, an equally important part of many Tribes’ new and existing stories today,” said Megan Davenport, a wildlife biologist for the InterTribal Buffalo Council. The council said the transfers help sustain tribally managed buffalo herds and preserve the unique genetics and lineage of the largest, free-roaming herd of American bison. In August, the InterTribal Buffalo Council (ITBC) completed the first transfer of 40 Yellowstone buffalo to 16 Native American tribes in nine states in collaboration with Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux tribes. are working to restore buffalo, which number in the thousands on tribal lands. He said the department is looking into donating bison to the Northern Arapaho Tribe and the Southern Ute Indian Tribe next year.Īn estimated 31,000 free-range wild bison roam in North America today. Gilmore said the department’s pastures now have 46 or 47 bison and probably will have as many as 70 in a month from the births. However, they were nearly wiped out by the turn of the 20th century, with fewer than 300 remaining on the planet by the early 1900s, said Megan Davenport, a wildlife biologist for the InterTribal Buffalo Council. When the first European explorers settled on the American continent, the number of bison surpassed 30 million. The mountain parks system started caring for the first managed bison herd in Colorado as a way to prevent extinction of the species. In 1914, the bison were moved to Genesee Park and then expanded to Daniels Park in 1938, according to the department. The herds descended from the last wild bison in North America from Yellowstone and originally were established at Denver’s City Park. The department has two conservation bison herds in the Denver Mountain Parks system - one at Genesee Park, the other at Daniels Park. “So for us to return bison to these tribes across the nation, we are returning land back to them.” “In native, Indian and Indigenous populations, the bison are part of the land. Gilmore said the bison had to be donated as quickly as possible because calves cannot be transported due to the threat of being trampled.Īt least until 2030, the parks and recreation department will no longer auction off young bison and instead will select tribes across the country to donate bison to. The 14 bison actually were given away before the Denver City Council unanimously approved of the ordinance this week. Due to weather conditions and concerns about overgrazing, the department decided to thin the herd more after this year’s auction in March. Gilmore said his department keeps about 60 bison on its pastures each year and had auctioned off its yearlings for years. The agency recently hosted its annual bison auction at Genesee Park, an event that helps keep the herd at a healthy population size and promotes genetic diversity.
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