Elk Island National Park transfers bison to Montana’s American Prairie Reserve
On March 13, 2014, Parks Canada’s Elk Island National Park will transfer 82 plains bison to American Prairie Reserve on the Great Plains north of the Missouri River in northeastern Montana. The 2014 historic partnering project achieves a full-circle journey for North America’s plains bison. It represents a significant international conservation project that contributes to the continued survival and well-being of an animal that is the undisputed symbol of North America’s vast interior plains.
In 1906, the last large herd of wild plains bison, the Pablo-Allard herd, was sold by Michel Pablo to the Government of Canada. In 1907, 410 plains bison were shipped by rail from Montana to the village of Lamont, Alberta, where they were herded to their new home at the newly established Elk Park, Alberta. Many animals were eventually distributed to various national parks and most of today's surviving plains bison are their descendants.
Elk Park became Elk Island National Park in 1913. As the park is entirely fenced in, periodically, the bison population must be reduced in order to ensure that the habitat is not over-grazed. This creates an opportunity for Elk Island National Park to provide bison to conservation projects throughout Canada and internationally.
93 bison were relocated in 2010 and 70 in 2012 from Elk Island National Park to American Prairie Reserve, whose mission is to create and manage a prairie wildlife reserve. When combined with public lands already devoted to wildlife, the reserve will protect a unique natural habitat, provide lasting economic benefits and improve public access to and enjoyment of the prairie landscape.
American Prairie Reserve submitted a request for additional plains bison in 2014. The March 2014 transfer will increase the reserve’s herd to more than 400 animals - a significant homecoming.
Parks Canada manages disease-free recovery herds at Elk Island National Park for plains and wood bison. All of Canada’s plains bison conservation herds originated in Elk Island National Park. Because of their high genetic diversity and long history of disease-free status, the park will continue to be the source in Canada for supplying plains bison to national and international projects.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Parks Canada work collaboratively to ensure that all bison from Elk Island National Park are healthy. Canadian Food Inspection Agency, in co-operation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, has developed a disease testing and treatment protocol for the animals and a veterinary health certificate that both countries have agreed to for this export-import of bison. The bison have been weighed, ear tagged, tested for specific diseases, treated with antibiotics, and certified as disease-free. The bison are quarantined for 60 days in Canada and again for 30 days upon their arrival in Montana.
Safety of the plains bison is top priority during all stages of the transfer. Elk Island National Park staff have unique expertise and a long history in managing, caring for and handling bison and are assisted by a Parks Canada veterinarian. American Prairie Reserve works with scientists from World Wildlife Fund to ensure the herd is healthy and well-managed at their reserve.
Elk Island National Park, located along the Yellowhead Highway, 45 kilometres east of Edmonton, has been proudly managing foundation bison herds for over a century. In 1946, the “Preservation of the Plains Bison” was designated as a National Historic Event. A Historic Sites and Monuments Board plaque at Astotin Lake in Elk Island National Park commemorates the park’s nationally significant role in the survival of plains bison.
Bison can easily be seen by visitors to Elk Island National Park. North of the Yellowhead Highway on the Elk Island Parkway, plains bison and other wildlife such as moose, elk and coyotes can be viewed. The area on the south side of the Yellowhead Highway is dedicated to wood bison. The wood bison roam the hills and forage along the lakes and can be viewed from hiking trails and from roads along the park's boundaries.
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