Defenders of Wildlife Blog

Tragedy struck at the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in northeastern Montana last week. On Tuesday and Wednesday, a wildfire burned some 14,000 acres, including most of the 2,100-acre bison pasture where 61 recently reintroduced Yellowstone bison and their 21 calves had been grazing.

Eighty-two Yellowstone bison were released into a 2,100-acre pasture this summer at Fort Peck Indian Reservation in northeastern Montana. Nearly all of that rolling grassland burned in a tragic fire last week, leaving 10 dead bison in its wake.

Sadly, 8 adult bison and 2 calves died in the fast-moving fire or were put down as a result of injuries caused by the fire. The remaining 72 bison will be moved to another pasture while Fort Peck Fish and Game wildlife managers rebuild the charred electric fence.

The cause of the fire is unknown, but it appears to have started a few miles west of the bison pasture along a county road connecting Scobey and Wolf Point, two small, rural outposts on the high, windy plains. The fire began Tuesday afternoon and spread quickly in gusts reaching up to 40 m.p.h.

Fort Peck Fish and Game will have their work cut out for them, however, as they must quickly rebuild the electric fence that was completed less than two months ago. Defenders has helped contribute funds in the past for bison fencing at Fort Peck and for the transport of genetically pure bison to the reservation. The bison were transferred from a quarantine facility outside of Yellowstone National Park, where some of the bison had been held for more than five years as part of an effort to provide genetically pure Yellowstone bison for restoration efforts.

The new herd of Yellowstone bison at Fort Peck began with the arrival of 61 bison in March and the birth of 21 calves this spring. In July, all 82 bison were released from a temporary enclosure into a 2,100-acre pasture. Fort Peck has plans to open an additional 5,000 acres for the bison this fall where the herd could eventually grow into the hundreds. About half of the bison will be given to the Fort Belknap reservation once fencing is completed there.

Defenders bison expert Jonathan Proctor has been in close contact with Robbie Magnan, director of Fort Peck Fish and Game, to see how we can help in the wake of this tragedy. While repairs to the bison fence are already underway, we’re committed to assisting the tribes in any way we can.

“It’s heartbreaking to lose these ten bison after the tribes at Fort Peck have waited so long and worked so hard for their return,” said Proctor. “But we’re determined to do everything we can to help the tribes move forward with their bison restoration program as planned. This tragic fire is not the end of bison restoration at Fort Peck.”

We’ll keep you updated on the situation as we learn more, and keep an eye out for email alerts explaining how you can help the bison at Fort Peck recover quickly from this terrible tragedy.

Read more about the historic return of bison to their home at Fort Peck.

Saturday may have been another quiet day at the remote Fort Peck Indian Reservation in northeastern Montana, but it also marked another historic moment for the return of pure wild bison to the Great Plains. For the second time in four months, I got to see genetically pure bison from Yellowstone National Park gain new ground at Fort Peck.

The first time was in March, when 61 bison came storming off half a dozen trailers into a two-acre temporary surveillance corral. Since then, 21 calves were born to this small herd of pioneers – the first bison of Yellowstone descent to be born on the Great Plains, the heart of their historic range. Many of these bison had never tasted freedom, as they had lived in a quarantine facility on the edge of Yellowstone for up to five years prior to this move to eradicate a disease called brucellosis.

On Saturday, all 82 bison stampeded out of the corral into a 2,100-acre pasture that will be part of their new home. See my photos below:

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Leaving the corral

Two acres isn't much room for 61 bison and their 21 calves, but keeping them in this temporary surveillance corral helped the animals adjust to their new surroundings at Fort Peck Indian Reservation in northeastern Montana.

Looking on

Robert Magnan with Fort Peck Fish & Game and several community members watch as the bison exit the corral and head into the 2,100-acre pasture.

First steps

This calf takes its first steps ever outside of the two-acre corral where it was born.

Big Sky country

Three adult bison spread out on a hillside in their native habitat.

Herding up

Bison herds, once a familiar sight all across the Great Plains, are making a triumphant return at Fort Peck Indian Reservation.

Powwow

Tribal members at Fort Belknap Indian Reservation celebrate during a summer powwow.

The bison now have free reign of this area. Once they’re settled, an additional 5,000 acres will be added to their home this fall, giving them more than 7,000 acres of grassland to graze and grow their numbers. Additional expansions are very likely, as we look to help the tribes acquire enough land to support at least 1,000 bison—the number scientists estimate is necessary to maintain genetic diversity.

Though it may be a long time before bison are truly “free roaming”, our hope is that these bison will be “wide ranging” enough to once again fulfill their essential ecological role in the Great Plains, while also helping to restore the culture of the people of the region. Tribal elder Iris Greybull was on hand to witness the event and said:

“We have always been known as buffalo people because we followed them, they fed us, they gave us clothes, they gave us our homes, they took care of us… Now the buffalo nations are coming back.”

At Defenders, our hope is that the people of Fort Peck Reservation are just the first of many landowners to offer bison a large home on the plains. The people of Fort Belknap Indian Reservation are also planning to start a new conservation herd of Yellowstone bison, and they have plenty of land to do it.

I attended a powwow at Fort Belknap on Sunday with Mark Azure, the tribes’ bison manager, and – along with two friends from World Wildlife Fund – helped him map the condition of the existing fence around their 22,000-acre area that will one day be home to wild Yellowstone bison. Defenders is assisting with a plan to upgrade the fence where necessary prior to the arrival of the Yellowstone bison, as required by the state of Montana prior to the bison’s return.

Beyond tribal lands, both Montana and federal agencies are looking to restore bison on some of our public lands as well. We look forward to partnering with them to make these plans a reality and see that more wild bison are returned to the Great Plains.

To learn more visit www.defenders.org/bisonhome.

It’s been four months since 61 genetically pure Yellowstone bison made their historic return to the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in eastern Montana. (See this blog post to remember how they got there.) Since then, 21 calves have been born at Fort Peck—the first Yellowstone bison to be born on the Great Plains since their ancestors roamed free nearly 150 years ago.

Now, those 82 bison are about to get even more room to roam. On Saturday, all of them will be released from their temporary surveillance corral into a 2,100-acre pasture. Then in fall, the bison will be given access to another 5,120-acre pasture, which will provide a total of more than 7,000 acres of their native habitat! While they still won’t be “free-roaming,” technically speaking (“wide-ranging” may be a more accurate term), these animals now have room to grow. Future expansion of the bison area is also very likely.

It’s been a long road for the bison and the tribes at Fort Peck, so the release on Saturday is really an incredible milestone. Watch part 2 of “The Return of the Bison” from High Plains Films to relive that day in March when the bison finally arrived after waiting so many years. (If you missed our post earlier in the week, click here to watch part 1 first. )

Stay tuned for a report from the field next week as the bison move on to greener pastures.

Learn more about Defenders efforts to restore bison.

The story of the return of bison to the Great Plains is an important one that connects many Americans to a troubling part of our nation’s past. These iconic animals simultaneously represent the natural beauty of the Wild West, as well as the thoughtless slaughter of a valuable species and the native people who depended on them.

That’s why, when we had a chance to be a part of historic efforts to restore bison to Montana tribal lands, we hired Emmy Award-winning filmmakers High Plains Films to help us tell our own part of the story. We wanted to share this tremendous accomplishment with wildlife supporters worldwide and show that it is possible to bring back a mighty creature to its rightful place.

So in March, several of us headed out to Montana to join our film crew in documenting the relocation of 61 genetically pure bison from a quarantine facility outside Yellowstone National Park to the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in eastern Montana.

Part 1 of “The Return of the Bison” chronicles the history of plains bison and the role that Defenders has played in helping the tribes at Fort Peck bring the bison back to their reservation.

Click here to watch Part 2.

Learn more about Defenders efforts to restore bison.

Photo Courtesy of Fort Peck Journal

In some happy news, some of the genetically pure bison that were transferred to the Fort Peck Indian Reservation last month have become proud parents.  As of today 13 newborns were reported among the herd with more reportedly expected soon.

According to the story in the Great Falls Tribune, the herd has taken to the newborns immediately and is doing a good job protecting them by huddling around them, keeping them close and not letting them drift too far away.

“The birth of the first bison calf at Fort Peck Reservation is the next positive step in wild bison restoration to the Great Plains with a new generation of pure bison starting their lives,” said Jonathan Proctor, Defenders’ Rocky Mountain region representative.

Photo Courtesy of Fort Peck Journal

Thanks to all our Defenders supporters for all your actions and donations that helped bring these wild bison home!

Read the full success story.

Learn more about what Defenders is doing to help bison.

You can check out Fort Peck Journal’s Facebook Page for more baby bison photos as they become available.

The last light was fading fast from the sky when the first three trailers arrived. Gale force winds were ripping through the high plains, and the thermometer had dropped well below  freezing. Still, I was incredibly excited and gratified to be part of the small gathering with Fort Peck tribal members  to witness a historic homecoming and tremendous win for wildlife.

It was so worth it to spend  almost the entire day yesterday traveling from Washington, D.C. to eastern Montana, for the return of wild bison to the Great Plains. I watched in awe last night as the tribal wildlife manager flipped the latch of the first trailer, opened the door, and out roared the first two wild bison from Yellowstone National Park, storming back onto the Fort Peck Indian Reservation.

One of the Yellowstone bison emerging from a trailer into a corral at Fort Peck Indian Reservation in eastern Montana.

The bison had spent all day as well, traveling  about 500 miles from a quarantine facility just outside Yellowstone, where some of them had been  for more than five years. But last night, they were finally set free where they truly belong in their new home.

In total, about 60 genetically pure, wild bison completed the journey. These are some of the only descendants of the historic herds that once roamed the Great Plains by the millions, and they are the first Yellowstone bison ever to be relocated to the Great Plains—the heart of their historic range– to start new herds.

Half of them will soon be moved to the nearby Fort Belknap Reservation once fencing is completed there. Both reservations will manage their new herds sustainably as a valuable cultural resource for the tribes.

Defenders has been able to work closely with the tribes to help bring Yellowstone bison to Fort Peck and Fort Belknap Reservations. Over the last few years, we’ve helped the tribes secure grazing permits to convert tribal land from cattle grazing to bison, paid for wildlife-friendly fencing, and lobbied with them against bad bills in the state legislature. We even chipped in for trailers to help transport the bison from Yellowstone.

But our work here isn’t finished yet. We’ve already committed resources to help the tribes at Fort Belknap, hopefully the next release site, put up fencing around their bison pastures this spring and summer. And in coming years, we’ll be helping the tribes set aside more of their lands  to expand the areas where bison can roam free.

Mike Leahy, Jonathan Proctor, Fort Peck Fish & Game Director Robbie Magnan and Jamie Rappaport Clark at the bison corral (left to right).

Incredible wildlife moments like these leave an indelible mark that will stay with me forever. As I listened to those bison hooves cantering around  on the prairie last evening,  I was reminded how fortunate I am to lead an organization like Defenders. I am also gratified and thankful for the many Defenders donors who have been with us on this long journey to restore bison to their native lands in northeast Montana and have so generously supported us along the trail.

I feel truly honored to have been able to share this incredible conservation achievement with the Assiniboine, Gros Ventre, and Sioux tribes of Fort Peck and Fort Belknap. I also want to thank Gov. Schweitzer and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks for their leadership with bison restoration. Their persistence and perseverance has ensured that future generations of Americans will be able to witness magnificent wild bison out on the range once again.