Bison reduction program at Grand Canyon North Rim completed for 2021

PHOENIX — A program to reduce the number of bison on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon has been completed for the year with 36 bison being removed through live capture and transfer while five were lethally removed, park officials said Wednesday.

The National Park Service in 2017 finalized a plan to eventually reduce the bison population at the park from 600 to 200 using live capture and transfer as well as limited lethal removal.

Park officials said in a press release on Wednesday that the bison negatively impact the park’s water, vegetation, soils and culturally significant sites and locations.

Through a partnership with the InterTribal Buffalo Council, 13 bison were transferred to the Santee Sioux Nation in Nebraska and 23 to the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma as part of the 2021 program. Since the program to transfer bison began with tribal partners in 2019, 124 bison have now been relocated to six tribes throughout four states.

Lethal removal guidelines as part of the 2017 plan were established for a pilot program that began this fall, with park officials saying the move was necessary despite the success of the live capture and transfer program.

A lottery was held for 12 spots to lethally remove the bison, with 45,000 people applying. Finalists selected had to take part in a shooting proficiency test, safety training and walk at least 30 miles in high elevation.

After one person failed the shooting proficiency test and another person backed out, 10 highly-skilled volunteers from the around the U.S. culled the animals from the Kaibab Plateau herd in partnership with the Arizona Game and Fish Department.

The program ended in late October after completing its goal of making the park less of a refuge for the animals and encouraging them to move more widely across the landscape, officials said, while the meat and significant parts of the bison culled were donated to three federally-recognized Tribes traditionally associated with the Grand Canyon.

“I am extremely proud of this team who has worked tirelessly on this complex and important resource management challenge,” Grand Canyon National Park Superintendent Ed Keable said in the press release.

“Their commitment will have lasting impacts to the natural and cultural resources on the North Rim well into the future.”

The 2020-21 winter population estimate for the herd stands at 400 bison, which officials said meets the goal set by the 2017 plan.

Additional reduction operations are underway and park officials said staff are developing an agreement with all traditionally associated tribes with the Grand Canyon to conduct joint-lethal removal of the bison in the future.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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