100 bison relocated from Arizona national park in effort to manage overpopulation

GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Ariz. – As part of a relocation project that began in 2018, 100 bison were relocated on Friday from Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona to South Dakota. The bison from the Kaibab Plateau Bison Herd were moved from the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park to the Intertribal Buffalo Council, which transported them to the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe in South Dakota, Grand Canyon National Park said in a news release.Since the efforts started, 306 bison have been removed from the North Rim, Grand Canyon National Park said. Out of those, 282 bison were transferred to eight American Indian tribes through an agreement with the Intertribal Buffalo Council. HOW THE AMERICAN BISON BECAME A NATIONAL ICONIn Grand Canyon National Park, bison are only found in the North Rim, the park’s website says. The plan to relocate the bison was initiated in 2014 by the National Parks Service. The goal was to decrease the size of the population of bison to protect resources in Grand Canyon National Park, according to the park’s website. By 2017, the plan to relocate bison from the park was finalized, and in 2018, relocation began. Approximately 378 bison lived in Grand Canyon National Park as of the summer, the news release said. “This successful relocation is a testament to the collaborative efforts of all our partners,” Grand Canyon Superintendent Ed Keable said in the release. “It represents a significant step toward achieving our long-term goals for bison management and conservation.”By 2025, the National Park Service hopes to reduce the size of the bison population in Grand Canyon National Park to 200.