Bison transfer to Tribes harms wild bison
Most tribal bison herds are treated like domestic livestock with serious consequences for the wild bison genome.
Yellowstone bison are part of the global wildlife heritage. Photo George Wuerthner
A week ago, 116 bison captured in Yellowstone National Park were transferred to the Fort Peck Indian Reservation as part of the Bison Relocation Program. Since 2019, 414 Yellowstone bison have been transferred to the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes at Fort Peck. Many of these bison are later distributed to 26 Tribes in partnership with the InterTribal Buffalo Council.
This process of removing public wildlife and privatization to tribes has gotten little review or opposition from wildlife advocates. But there are reasons to object to the process.
YELLOWSTONE BISON ARE PART OF THE GLOBAL NATURAL HERITAGE
Bison wander through the Roosevelt Arch in Gardiner, Montana. Photo George Wuerthner
Yellowstone bison are the least manipulated buffalo in the West. They are subject to natural selection by ecosystem processes like predators, harsh winters, natural breeding patterns, and social patterns.
These bison are an international treasure. The fact that they are regularly killed when they leave Yellowstone National Park and their removal from the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is a national tragedy.
Yellowstone bison are part of the nation's patrimony and heritage. These animals belong to all Americans and are of international significance.
Most people celebrate the transfer of bison, and perhaps it is better than the other option of allowing the Montana Dept of Livestock and tribal people to slaughter bison that wander out of Yellowstone National Park. However, in many cases, the bison that ultimately end up on a reservation may be and are sometimes killed anyway.
For instance, the Fort Peck Tribe bison are housed on a 15,000 acre “ranch” (yes they call it that) that does not permit bison to move freely and exercise natural tendencies like migration.
The tribe also advertises that one can kill a bison for $3500. These are bison they get from Americans for free and exploit for profit. But that is not the greatest problem faced by bison.
DOMESTICATION GREATEST THREAT TO WILD BISON
The transfer to tribal reservation is not "saving" bison. It is a domestication program. Again, no one is willing to admit this. I continuously hear from the media and so-called conservation groups that tribes are "saving" bison.
No evidence exists that tribal management on reservations is geared toward preserving and enhancing bison wildness. Indeed, the opposite is apparent.
All deceptively named "conservation herds," including bison on Indian reservations or private ranches, are being artificially manipulated to one degree or another. Bison are regularly fed in the winter; native predators are killed to protect the animals; animals are selectively bred; overly aggressive males are often removed (the very animals that would protect wild bison); and inbreeding issues are due to small populations and other issues.
These transfers are justified based on cultural preservation or to atone for past injustices suffered by tribal people. An inconvenient truth seldom acknowledged that tribal hide hunting in the 1800s led to the demise of bison across much of the West.
However, cultural preservation does not preserve wild bison. Cultural preservation is about people, not about what is best for bison. These policies promote an injustice against bison nature.
The domestication of bison on reservations and elsewhere is no different than the building of salmon hatcheries to increase fish run to give the delusion that wild salmon are being "saved" as they continue to decline, partly due to interbreeding with hatchery fish.
Bison calves in Yellowstone where bison are subject to natural evolutionary processes. Photo George Wuerthner
A further problem is that these bison are public property (if there is such a thing as wildlife being the property of anyone). The current bison transfer policies are in effect a privatization of PUBLIC wildlife. Indian reservations are essentially private property. The transfer of public animals to reservations (or any other private individuals or organizations) is a giveaway of valuable wildlife.
For instance, Ted Turner received some Yellowstone bison in 2010. Ironically the tribes opposed that transfer.
Would most people accept transferring the trees in Yellowstone to private timber companies or relocation of grizzlies and wolves out of the park? I suspect not.
The Missouri River in the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge, Montana. Photo George Wuerthner
If bison are to be transferred anywhere, these public animals should be placed on other public lands like the Charles M. Russell Wildlife Refuge, Upper Green River and Red Desert of Wyoming, and the Birch Creek Valley of Idaho, to name a few locations.
THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM
And this gets to the heart of the matter. Bison transfer allows everyone to avoid the elephant in the room. It is a violation of the public trust.
Migration is one of the major adaptations of wild bison--an adaptation being eliminated by domestication and the killing/caputre of bison near Yellowstone's border. Photo George Wuerthner
Wild bison in Yellowstone should be permitted to migrate onto other public lands surrounding the park without being slaughtered or at the least be placed on public holdings elsewhere in the West. There is plenty of bison habitat on national forests surrounding Yellowstone that could serve as additional habitat for wild bison.
THE BRUCELLOSIS CLUB
However, the use of those lands is presently blocked by questionable legal assertions by the state of Montana that prohibit untested bison (for brucellosis) from wandering into the state. The state of Montana has no authority to block bison from other federal lands due to the Constitution's Supremacy Clause.
Ranchers use an excuse for the brucellosis infection to keep bison bottled up in the park. Brucellosis can cause abortion in cattle, but thus far, there is not one documented infection of any cattle herds surrounding Yellowstone resulting from wild bison. There are numerous examples of elk infecting cattle herds—yet elk are not bottled up in Yellowstone and are free to migrate from the park.
TRIBAL SLAUGHTER
The second barrier is the "lead fence" created by tribal gunners who wait for any unsuspecting animals to wander over the imaginary line that separates Yellowstone from the Custer Gallatin NF lands beyond the park boundary.
Bison near Gardiner are subject to slaughter by both tribal members as well as a few non-Indians. Photo George Wuerthner
Last year, more than 1100 bison were killed by tribal members. I do not refer to them as hunters. In this brutality, tribal people are doing the dirty work of the livestock industry. If they were not slaughtering bison, the livestock industry would be forced to kill the animals, and the resulting bad publicity is something the ranchers wish to avoid. Thankfully for them, there are some tribes (not all tribes support the bison kill) quite willing to slaughter bison, saving the industry from the black eye that would invariably result.
The tribes argue they have treaty rights to kill bison. Others have questioned that assertion.
It is worth noting that none of the so-called conservation groups in the area, like the Greater Yellowstone Coalition (GYC), has condemned the slaughter and has not bothered to do an in-depth analysis of the presumed treaty rights. You can learn more here.
In fact, GYC in effect is facilitating the capture and transfer of bison by donating money for a larger holding pen.
Beyond the issue of whether the tribal bison slaughter is illegal, both tribal groups and groups, like GYC, do not denounce the carnage. See the video here to see what they are unwilling to condemn.
Both the tribes and organizations like GYC, Yellowstone Forever, Buffalo Field Campaign, and other organizations are unwilling to call out tribal bison massacre and fail to articulate the multiple ways that killing bison harms the wild bison genome. I detail more of this here, but the fundamental issue is that killing roaming animals destroys the tendency to migrate, which is one of the significant ecological adaptations of wild bison.
GROUPS TO SUPPORT FOR BISON PRESERVATION
If you care about wild bison, you should support the Montana Wild Bison Restoration Coalition (I am a board member), Roam Free Nation, Yellowstone Voices, Alliance for Wild Rockies and the Gallatin Wildlife Association. All of these organizations, in one way or another, condemn the unnecessary killing of Yellowstone's wild bison and support the creation of other public lands bison herds.
George, thank you for the inclusion of so many factors in the article “Bison transfer to Tribes..” I allow that the Cattle Industry bribes or coerces Government—including U.S. Dept of Interior officials, complicit Tribes to—ultimately—annihilate the wild bison so as to have every blade of grass available for Cattle ONLY. As Joe Gutkoski said: “Some cattle people would like to kill every bison”
Larry Drummond