116 Yellowstone bison transferred to Fort Peck Tribes

MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS, Wyo. (KIFI) – During the week of Feb. 5, the National Park Service and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service moved 116 Yellowstone National Park bison to the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in Poplar, Mont.

The Bison Conservation Transfer Program continues to make history, having relocated the largest number of live Yellowstone bison to American Indian Tribes in the world.

The bison transferred to the Fort Peck Indian Reservation included 108 males, four females and four calves.

Since 2019, a total of 414 Yellowstone bison have been transferred to the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes at Fort Peck. Nearly all of those bison and their offspring have then been further distributed to 26 Tribes across 12 states in partnership with the InterTribal Buffalo Council.

This transfer is the result of many partners working together: the NPS, Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, APHIS, the State of Montana, InterTribal Buffalo Council, Yellowstone Forever, Defenders of Wildlife and the Greater Yellowstone Coalition.