(Wind River Indian Reservation, Wyoming) The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bipartisan bill last week called the Indian Buffalo Management Act. The bill will institute a buffalo program within the Department of Interior to promote Tribal ownership and management of buffalo in the US.
Jason Baldes (Eastern Shoshone) is the National Wildlife Federation’s Tribal buffalo program manager and board member for the Intertribal Buffalo Council. He said in a press statement that the bill will support tribal sovereignty.
“And will provide needed resources to bring buffalo back to Tribal lands for cultural and ecological restoration,” Baldes said.
The bill also requires consultation with tribes on federal decisions that affect buffalo habitat and safety, as well as the Interior Department entering into agreements with Tribes and Tribal organizations to transport buffalo from federal to Tribal lands.
More on the bill here.