Bison moved from Yellowstone to Taos Pueblo
TAOS, N.M. (KRQE) – In an effort to boost bison populations in New Mexico, 10 bison from Yellowstone National Park are now at the Taos Pueblo, joining an existing herd of 100 bison.
The bison were moved as part of the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Grasslands Keystone Initiative, a federal effort to utilize indigenous knowledge to protect North America’s central grasslands. The InterTribal Buffalo Council handled the move.
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“The American bison is inextricably intertwined with Indigenous culture, grassland ecology, and American history. While the overall recovery of bison over the last 130 years is a conservation success story, significant work remains to not only ensure that bison will remain a viable species but also to restore grassland ecosystems, strengthen rural economies dependent on grassland health and provide for the return of bison to Tribally owned and ancestral lands,” Secretary Deb Haaland said in a 2023 press release describing the Grasslands Keystone Initiative.
Now, the federal government will work with tribal partners to ensure the buffalo in Taos and other herds remain healthy. Overall, the Department of the Interior says conservation efforts have brought wild bison back from the brink of extinction with fewer than 500 bison in the U.S. to more than 15,000.
