Wood Bison Restoration in Alaska:
An Opportunity to Bring Back a Native Species

Wood bison inhabited Alaska during most of the last several thousand years, but disappeared by the early 1900s. Suitable habitat still exists in the state. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is working with a variety of Alaska Native elders, local communities, scientists, and organizations in Alaska and Canada to explore the possibility of restoring wood bison to Alaska.

Public interest in wood bison restoration has grown, and support for restoring one or more wood bison populations in Alaska has been expressed by people in a number of Alaskan communities and organizations, along with the North American Bison Specialist Group of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Canada's Wood Bison Recovery Team.

We encourage you to review the information on this web site, and to let us know what you think about this potential wildlife conservation initiative.

Wood Bison and the Endangered Species Act

• Overview of wood bison and the ESA (PDF File 58 K)
• How ADF&G is Addressing Concerns about Wood Bison and the ESA (PDF File 65 K)
• Petition to Reclassify the Wood Bison From Endangered to Threatened (PDF File 47 K)
• November 2008 USFWS letter on the status of wood bison under the ESA

Wood Bison News

• Winter 2008-2009 Issue of the Wood Bison News (PDF File 2,657 K)
• Wood Bison News 2007-2008 (PDF File 686 K)
• Wood Bison News 2005-2006 (PDF File 840 K)

2007 Wood Bison Environmental Review

1. Thank You Letter (PDF File 44 K)
2. Decision Notice (PDF File 480 K)
3. Cover letter for the Wood Bison Environmental Review (PDF File 47 K)
4. Newsletter insert: Summary of the Environmental Review (PDF File 826 K)
5. Wood Bison Review Public Response Form (PDF File 80 K)
6. Environmental Review of Wood Bison Restoration in Alaska (PDF File 1,800 K)
1. Appendix A: Joint ADF&G/USFWS Review of Wood Bison Restoration on Yukon Flats (PDF File 368 K)
2. Appendix B: USFWS letter on status of wood bison under the Endangered Species Act (PDF File 362 K)
3. Appendix C-1: Documents of support from early public consultation on the Yukon Flats (PDF File 1,400 K)
4. Appendix C-2: Summary of public comment from the spring 2005 Wood Bison News (PDF File 52 K)
5. Appendix D: List of presentations at the Wood Bison Restoration Advisory Group meetings (PDF File 21 K)
6. Environmental Review scoping comments
• Appendix E-1: List of Scoping Letters Sent and Responses Received (PDF File 34 K)
• Appendix E-2: Example Scoping Letter (available on request)
• Appendix E-3: Copies of Scoping Comments Received (available on request)
7. Appendix F: ADF&G/DWC wildlife transplant policy findings (PDF File 48 K)

• Wood Bison Color Brochure *(PDF File 580 K)
• Frequently Asked Questions *(PDF File 495 K)
• "Wood Bison in Late Holocene Alaska and Adjacent Canada: Paleontological, Archaeological and Historical Records." Part 1 (PDF File 900 K), Part 2 (PDF File 900 K), Part 3 (PDF File 1.3 MB)**
• Canada's Wood Bison Recovery Plan (PDF file 726K, 54 pages) *

For further information contact dfg.dwc.woodbison@alaska.gov

WHAT ARE WOOD BISON?

Wood Bison	Plains Bison
Bulls average 1800 lb. Little or no chap hair on foreleg Taller, square hump Taller and larger Darker color Cape usually does not form distinct boundary behind shoulder Long, straight hair sloping down on forehead Smaller, more pointed beard	Bulls average 1600 lb. Shorter neck More rounded hump Smaller and stockier Chaps of long hair on forelegs Cape usually lighter in color Frizzy hair on head Large, more rounded beard In summer, cape forms distinct boundary

Wood bison are one of two modern subspecies of North American bison. Plains bison (Bison bison bison) once ranged across much of the contiguous United States and southwestern Canada, but did not occur in Alaska or northern Canada. Wood bison (Bison bison athabascae) originally ranged across a vast region in northwestern Canada and Alaska. Both plains bison and wood bison were driven nearly to extinction by 1900, when fewer than 300 wood bison survived in Canada.

Wood bison are 10 to 15% heavier than plains bison, making them the largest native land mammal in North America. They are well adapted to northern habitats, having lived in northern meadows and forests for thousands of years. The bison currently living in Alaska near Delta Junction, Farewell, and in the Copper and Chitina river drainages are descendants of plains bison that were introduced to the state in 1928.