The US Fish and Wildlife Service has published a ruling to allow for the reintroduction of wood bison into Alaska.
Andrea Medeiros with the Fish and Wildlife Service explained what that ruling meant.
Medeiros: “It’s a 10j rule that the reintroduced animals would not have the protections that are otherwise required under the Endangered Species Act so it allows for a bit more latitude as far as development goes and also management.”
She elaborated that the ruling loosens the reins so that the Alaska Department of Fish and Game may plan to reintroduce wood bison.
They historically ranged in the interior and south central Alaska through northwest Canada according to the ADF&G website but have not been seen in Alaska since the early 1900s.
There are no free-roaming herds of wood bison in the U.S. currently, they are part of a conservation program after the populations nearly went extinct in the early 1900s.
The ADF&G would be responsible for managing the animals after reintroduction into its historical range around the Yukon area.
Wood bison differ from plains bison mainly in size, with adult males weighing up to 2,000 pounds.