Plains Bison Status Assessment

In 2022, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service evaluated three petitions to list populations of plains bison within the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem as a distinct population segment meriting federal protection. Following an initial evaluation, the Service initiated a comprehensive status review of the species.

In addition to pulling from the western-based datasets expected in any species status assessment, this effort aims to incorporate Indigenous Knowledge, taking into account the cultural significance of the species to many Plains Indian tribes. Thus, this review represents an important step towards adhering to recent guidelines released by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and the White House Council on Environmental Quality regarding recognizing and valuing Indigenous Knowledge.

Due to our record of successfully applying Indigenous research methods and methodologies in combination with our strong background in technical writing, M&N Wildlife, LLC was selected as a partner in this effort, and expects to contribute to data compilation and presentation in the spring and summer of 2025*.

*Please Note: This project has been affected by recent shifts in funding and staffing availability and is likely to be delayed. However, we remain committed to this work.