Efforts to re-establish the presence of bison on tribal land recently received a nearly $620,000 boost of federal money.
A partnership between the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapahoe Tribes and the Wind River Reservation secured the more than half-million dollars from the America the Beautiful Challenge in late 2023. The money will go toward further revitalizing existing buffalo herds in the region and several other interconnected conservation projects.
The challenge was launched in April 2022 by the Biden Administration and is administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. The administration made an initial commitment to dole out $440 million of federal resources over five years, with the goal of distributing upwards of $1 billion.
GYC is currently in the process of entering into a contract with NFWF. Once they do so, the money will go directly to the tribes, Emilie Ritter, GYC communications director, wrote in an email to the Chronicle.
The grant will promote buffalo conservation, habitat restoration and climate resilience on the Wind River Reservation through various meritocracy-focused projects. Those efforts are expected to include increasing the number of bison and space available for them, community engagement and education and support for a “grassroots to governance” program” which will bring together community members and Tribal leaders and Elders to advance shared goals, among other projects.
Specifically, the grant will work to grow the Wind River buffalo population from 150 individuals across 3,000 acres to a thousand animals with 100,000 acres to roam.
“Buffalo belong on the landscape,” said Jason Baldes, executive director and founder of the Wind River Buffalo Tribal Initiative. Baldes is also vice president of the Intertribal Buffalo Council and a member of the Eastern Shoshone Tribe.
In 2016, a buffalo set hooves in the Wind River Reservation for the first time in about 130 years. The WRTBI seeks to welcome the animal’s return to the reservation, restore their population under the protection of tribal law, and re-ignite the deep connection between Indigenous peoples and buffalo.
While centered around buffalo, the grant money is expected to have other, far-reaching benefits to the Wind River ecosystem and tribes. As a keystone species, revitalizing the bison population and restoring their habitat will benefit ecosystem health, including the conservation of rivers and other water sources.
More buffalo also means food sovereignty. WRTBI calls buffalo the healthiest meat source for its protein and vitamins and emphasizes the healing aspect of a return to harvesting animals.
Ritter said the grant is unique because it supports collaborative efforts on the Wind River Reservation.
“Indigenous knowledge is crucial for the success of this project, and so many other conservation efforts in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. After all, it was the tribes in this region who for millennia nurtured the land, waters and wildlife of the GYE,” Ritter said.
Baldes said the money will also help tribes navigate policy and procedure for future land use change and land acquisition.
“It helps our overall efforts to conserve and protect what little we have left in terms of land and water and wildlife,” he said.
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