Project Profile: Advance Bison Reintroduction at Glacier National Park

Of all the megafauna species that inhabited Glacier National Park's landscape in northwest Montana in the early 19th century, the American bison and pronghorn antelope are thought to be the only species currently missing.

NPS

Inflation Reduction Act
Restoration | FY23 - 27 $1,500,000

Glacier National Park, in close cooperation with the Blackfeet Nation, will initiate studies to monitor and analyze pre- and post-environmental conditions associated with the re-introduction of bison adjacent to the park. The project contributes to the goal of establishing a wild, free-ranging herd of plains bison that move across reservation, park, and international boundaries.

Why? Once numbering 30 million and ranging across the United States and in Canada and Mexico, bison were hunted to near extinction, with only several hundred remaining by the 1870’s. The Iinnii Initiative is a collaboration led by the Blackfeet Nation to restore free-ranging bison (‘iinnii’ in Blackfeet language) to the landscape after a 125-year absence. Glacier National Park and Waterton Lakes National Park (Parks Canada) have been active participants in the Iinnii Initiative.

What Else? The Department of the Interior (DOI) is committed to both leadership and partnership to ensure the conservation and restoration of wild American bison. This project supports DOI’s 2020 Bison Conservation Initiative and the Secretarial Order 3410 on the Restoration of American Bison and the Prairie Grasslands.

About the Inflation Reduction Act

The Inflation Reduction Act provides the National Park Service with an historic opportunity to address critical ecosystem resilience, restoration, and environmental planning needs. Projects funded in national parks represent broad-scale and impactful resource investments across every corner of our nation—from Alaska to Florida to Maine.