Deb Haaland U.S. Secretary of the Interior | Official Website
The Department of the Interior, along with its counterparts in Canada and Mexico, has signed a new agreement aimed at enhancing the conservation of the American bison across North America. This collaborative effort involves the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Parks Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, and Mexico's Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources. The agreement focuses on restoring ecological processes and supporting traditional human use of natural resources while emphasizing the historical connection between bison and Indigenous peoples.
The agreement was developed during a recent meeting of the Canada/Mexico/United States Trilateral Committee for Wildlife and Ecosystem Conservation and Management in San Diego, California. Established in 1996, this committee works to protect North America's wildlife through cross-border cooperation among federal, state, Tribal resource managers, and non-governmental organizations.
"While the overall recovery of bison over the last 130 years is a conservation success story, significant work remains to ensure that bison will remain a viable species," stated Secretary Deb Haaland. "Our collaborative efforts with Canada and Mexico are an important step forward as we work to restore this majestic species and facilitate the return of bison to Tribally owned and ancestral lands."
The Letter of Intent outlines various strategies for collaboration among these nations. These include promoting regional activities for ecocultural conservation policies; joint work plans within specific working tables; fostering transparency about technical information; and streamlining reporting under this agreement.
These international initiatives complement domestic efforts like the Grasslands Keystone Initiative. In 2023, Secretary Haaland announced a $25 million investment to support bison restoration using scientific data combined with Indigenous Knowledge. This initiative led to forming a Bison Working Group (BWG) representing several bureaus including Indian Affairs, Land Management, Fish & Wildlife Service, National Park Service, and Geological Survey. The BWG is tasked with developing a comprehensive Bison Shared Stewardship Plan involving extensive engagement with Tribes.
Historically widespread across North America from Mexico's desert grasslands to Alaska's interior regions before European settlement drastically reduced their numbers from millions to just about 1,000 individuals remaining today mainly due their genetic isolation or being fenced off into small herds raising concerns over long-term viability despite some population recovery efforts saving them from extinction initially begun decades ago leading up until now where approximately only around thirty-one thousand currently exist between US Canadian Mexican territories aiming towards not only conserving but also maintaining integral roles both ecologically culturally within native landscapes societies respectively
