Plains Bison
(Bison bison bison)
Management
Hunting is used to manage the size of Alaska’s herds of plains bison. Some other management practices are also employed as indicated:
Delta Bison Herd: Some bison in the herd are radio collared and this helps biologists to locate animals from the ground and the air. In order to reduce adverse impacts of these animals on agriculture operations in the Delta area, the state established the Delta Junction Bison Range (DJBR) in 1979. This 90,000-acre area provides habitat and forage (especially important in winter). Money from the hunt application supports range management. The pre-hunt herd size in 2006 was 430 animals. The management objective is to maintain a herd size of about 360 bison at the pre-calving count.
The Farewell herd: As of 2003, some bison in the herd have been radiocollared, which assists in locating the herd for monitoring and assessment. Managers suggest habitat improvement through a controlled burn may be necessary to maintain a herd size of 300.