Reintroducing bison to Banff National Park – an ecocultural case study

Abstract

The reintroduction of extirpated species is a frequent tactic in rewilding projects because of the functional role species play in maintaining ecosystem health. Despite their potential to benefit both ecosystems and society, however, most well-known species reintroductions have adopted an eco-centric, “nature-in-people-out” approach. Rewilding theory and practitioners acknowledge that ignoring the role Indigenous people did and might once again play in shaping the distribution, abundance, movements, behavior, and health of wild species and ecosystems, is limiting. In this case study, we describe the technical steps we took and how Indigenous knowledge, ceremony, and cultural monitoring were woven into the recent reintroduction of plains bison to Canada’s Banff National Park. Six years later, the reintroduced bison herd has grown from 16 to >100 animals, ranges mostly within 30 km of the release site, and, if current growth continues, will likely be managed with Indigenous harvesting. Transboundary bison policy differences are shifting and may lead to bison being more sustainable. The ecocultural approach, therefore, has increased the resilience of our rewilding project.

Developing guidelines and a theory of change framework to inform rewilding application

“…Hence, place-based approaches and thorough assessments of local social-ecological conditions are key to developing rewilding plans and prioritizing interventions (Ceausu et al, 2015;Navarro and Pereira, 2015b;Butler et al, 2019). This is reflected in contextual assessments (e.g., Soule and Terborgh, 1999a;Foreman, 2004;Cerqueira et al, 2015;Jepson et al, 2018) and considerations for ecological or cultural conditions that influence what interventions are appropriate, e.g., a natural seed source influences the potential for natural regeneration (Navarro et al, 2015), or culturally significant species enhance opportunities for species reintroductions (Monbiot, 2013;Jepson et al, 2018;Heuer et al, 2023). Thorough and genuine place-based assessments of socio-cultural factors allow projects to avoid making assumptions about levels of support, stakeholder priorities, or reasons for opposition.…”