The Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of Fort Peck Indian Reservation have completed the transfer of 28 Yellowstone bison to reservation in Poplar, Montana, under the Bison Conservation Transfer Program. All the bison completed Phases I & II of the brucellosis quarantine protocol at Yellowstone National Park and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service facilities and will finish assurance testing at Fort Peck.
The National Park Service, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, the State of Montana, and Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes started the Bison Conservation Transfer Program to identify brucellosis-free bison and transfer them to new areas as an alternative to sending them to slaughter.
The program has led to the largest transfer of live Yellowstone bison among Native American Tribes in history: 182 bison since 2019. Of those, 82 animals were then transferred to the Intertribal Buffalo Council who distributed them to 18 Tribes in 10 states.
Currently, 67 animals are still in the Bison Conservation Transfer Program and the park and APHIS intend to enter 80 to 120 new animals into the program this winter.
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