GRAND CANYON (KTNV) — A group of bison from Grand Canyon National Park have found a new home.
On Friday, wildlife managers relocated 100 bison from the North Rim and they were transferred to the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe in South Dakota. It's part of a partnership with the Intertribal Buffalo Council.
"This successful relocation is a testament to the collaborative efforts of all our partners," said Grand Canyon Superintendent Ed Keable. "It represents a significant step toward achieving our long-term goals for bison management and conservation."
For those who don't know, the present-day Kaibab Plateau Bison Herd originated from the Charles Jesse "Buffao" Jones founder herd, which was brought to Arizona in 1906.
The Arizona Game & Fish Department managed the herd starting in 1929. That was in the House Rock Wildlife Area within the Kaibab National Forest.
In the 1990s, things like public hunting and drought led to 100 bison migrating to the Grand Canyon National Park's North Rim.
According to the National Park Service, in 2014, the organization started looking at ways to manage bison overpopulation in the park. The initial bison herd reduction plan was finalized in 2017 and it "aims to reduce the herd through live capture and transfer as well as limited lethal removed."
An environmental assessment from 2017 indicates the NPS was concerned about how the herd could impact future water, vegetation, soils, other wildlife, archaeological sites, and visitor experiences.
Since the removal program was put in place, 306 bison have been removed from the North Rim and 282 were transfereed to eight different American Indian tribes.
Researchers estimate that 378 animals were in the herd, as of this summer.
