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Grand Canyon National Park News Release

April 27, 2021



PO Box 129, Grand Canyon, AZ 86023



Office of Communications

grca_bison_infonps.gov

www.nps.gov/grca



Grand Canyon National Park seeks skilled volunteers for North Rim bison reduction



The Arizona Game and Fish Department is forwarding this Grand Canyon National Park news release to constituents who may have an interest in this opportunity



GRAND CANYON, Ariz. — The National Park Service, in cooperation with the Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD), seeks skilled volunteers to assist with the removal of bison on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park in the fall of 2021. Interested parties should carefully read this announcement and the information in the links below.

Given the current distribution, abundance, density and the expected growth of the bison herd on the North Rim, the NPS is concerned about increased impacts on park resources such as water, vegetation, soils, archaeological sites and values such as visitor experience and wilderness character. Reducing the herd size will protect the park ecosystem, resources and values.

Individuals who are interested in applying to be volunteers can submit an application on the following website (www.azbisonstewards.com) beginning at 12 a.m. (Arizona time) on May 3 through 11:59 p.m. on May 4, 2021. Volunteers must:

Be U.S. citizens 18 years of age or older with valid photo ID
Have the ability to purchase and pass a background investigation and have no criminal or wildlife violations
Self-certify a high level of physical fitness ability
Have a firearm safety certification and pass a marksmanship proficiency test (3 of 5 shots in a 4-inch circle at 100 yards)
Provide their own equipment, firearm, lodging, food and field dressing supplies. See firearm FAQs.
Be available for the entirety of one of the assigned lethal removal operational periods. Individuals may not participate in more than one: Sept. 20-24, 2021; Sept. 27-Oct 1, 2021; Oct. 18-22, 2021; Oct. 25-29, 2021
Meet all additional requirements listed on the NPS FAQ page and on the application (the application will be available at www.azbisonstewards.com when the application period opens).

Only 25 applicants will be selected to form the pool from which 12 qualified individuals will be chosen to become a skilled volunteer. The volunteer pool will be selected using a random lottery system and selected individuals will be contacted by the NPS by May 17, 2021. At the end of the week, volunteers may be given up to one bison in exchange for removal by AZGFD. Employees of the National Park Service or other Department of the Interior agencies, as well as employees of the Arizona Game and Fish Department or members of the Arizona Game and Fish Commission, are not eligible to apply.

Future volunteer removal operations will be announced on a later date and will require a separate volunteer application. Please note, this is not an AZGFD permit hunt or draw application, and applying or being selected for this skilled volunteer opportunity will not affect bonus points, count toward lifetime species limits, or invalidate any big game tag or application an individual may have with AZGFD.

There will not be an opportunity to correct applications once submitted. Detailed information is available on the NPS FAQ page and will also be on the application page at www.azbisonstewards.com once the application period opens. Any questions should be emailed to grca_bison_infonps.gov.

This effort to reduce bison to a more manageable herd size is supported via consultation with the public and traditionally associated Tribes as well as in the 2017 Environmental Assessment conducted by NPS, the State of Arizona and the US Forest Service.

In addition to removal, Grand Canyon National Park biologists began piloting live capture and relocation in 2019. Since the program began, 88 animals have been captured and relocated to five American Indian Tribes through an agreement with the Inter-Tribal Buffalo Council. These animals will augment existing herds managed by these Tribes. In addition, NPS and USGS biologists have placed GPS collars on 25 animals to help with population estimates, migration patterns and temporal locations. Grand Canyon will continue live capture and relocation operations in the fall of 2021.

For more information regarding bison impacts and monitoring, please visit: https://www.nps.gov/articles/bison-impacts-and-monitoring.htm.



-NPS-

Thanks for posting it.

Thanks, G

But I’m holding out for the Orca cull hunt that should open up soon.

🦫

That’s gonna be an impressive group of 12 😎

Whoa. Wheels are turning.

I suspect drawing a Desert sheep tag will have better odds than getting picked for this...

Can some Facebook SuperFriends send Safariman a message?

CCCC, youre on the Zuckerberg nipple, fire an IM over to the guy with the big guns. 🤣

Packing out a bison on foot sounds sporty.

https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/nature/bison-reduction-faqs.htm

Fuuucccckkkk that.

from the article:

Provide a pictured proof of identity (driver’s license, passport)

Racist!
I’m out !🤷🏻‍♂️

So they carp about pioneers murdering off the huge Bison herds in the 19th century and now they're going to revisit it again in order to keep the park tidy for visitors and hikers? Why not just allow hunting for all species?

Having lived through stupendous levels of government BS and redtape that killed thousands along side them.

I can self - certify a low level of physical fitness.

I smell a peta protest...
Maybe we should let the peta people swim with the Orcas...

They could run with the Bison like in Pamplona!

Jerry

Yep.

And I may just put in for a sheep tag this year, as I have a bunch of points saved up.

Are the odds for Rocky Mountains any better than for Desert. I haven't been following as I haven't been interested in a hunt recently.

Did you read anything on that notice?

It has little or nothing whatsoever to do with visitors or hikers. It's in an area of the North Rim that gets very little visitation. Sure, they mentioned "visitor experience", but if you have knowledge of the area, you know there are very few folks going to that part of the park. They don't run tour buses of folks from Las Vegas to that part of the Park. There are no amenities there, it's basically "wilderness:" such as it exists in the US nowadays. Folks that get picked are going to have to carry that bison meat out on foot.

The herd there has moved from an area where hunting is allowed, and they stayed because conditions are likely better there than where they were introduced. This hunt has more to do with protecting habitat for other critters in the park and protecting other resources.

Hunting of other species in that Park? Ha, not going to happen any time soon, no matter how much sense it might make to us hunters.

I commend the Park for trying to come up with a method the PETA folks can't stop easily. It's not "hunting" for recreational purposes, it's not Gooberment hunters going in to slaughter animals, it's associated with some Tribal entities, and if it works it's helping the other critters in the Park and the general habitat.

If I was 45 and not of "Medicare" age with a bad back, two repaired shoulders, a replaced knee, and arthritis in a few other places, I've got a nice rifle that fits their criteria and I'd be putting in for this chance. Just in case I got lucky.

I'd never be able to pass the Marksmanship test if I thot I could I'd apply .

I just mention Peta because they have protested cull hunts at other national parks where herds were so large that the over population and lack of natural predators lead to an overall sickly herd.
The peta idiots didn't even spend enough time at the park to see or assess the condition of the animals...