House committee recommends passage of tribal buffalo bill named for Don Young

The House Natural Resources Committee formally recommended Thursday, Oct. 29, that the full House pass a bill directing the Interior secretary to help tribes restore and manage buffalo on tribal land. The bill is named for the late Alaska Rep. Don Young and the late Rep. Doug LaMalfa.

The committee had approved it Sept. 15 by unanimous consent and without amendment.

Under the bill, as described in the committee's report, the secretary could award grants, contracts and cooperative agreements to tribes and tribal organizations for buffalo restoration and provide technical assistance. The secretary could also agree with tribes to move surplus buffalo off federal land onto Indian land, and would have to consult tribes on Interior initiatives related to buffalo and buffalo habitat.

The report cites American Indians' and Alaska Natives' cultural and spiritual relationship with the buffalo. It says North America's buffalo population fell from tens of millions to about 1,000 in the late 19th century and that some estimates now put the U.S. population at more than 200,000.

The Intertribal Buffalo Council has 90 member tribes in 23 states. Its president, Ervin Carlson, of the Blackfeet Nation, wrote in May testimony that the council helped the tribe at Old Harbor and member tribe Stevens Village establish herds in Alaska.

"This is a successor to the legislation initially introduced by the late Don Young of Alaska and which he got through the House in the 117th Congress," Carlson told a House subcommittee May 21. He said comparable legislation from LaMalfa, then-Rep. Mary Peltola and others was unanimously reported out of the same committee in the 118th Congress.

Rep. Jeff Hurd, a Colorado Republican, introduced the current bill March 17. Carlson said a $14 million authorization and language creating a new Interior program were cut from an earlier version to meet House protocols, and that tribes need fencing, watering systems and testing for successful herds.

At the Sept. 15 markup, Hurd said the bill uses existing authorities and authorizes no new spending. The bill next goes to the full House; no vote date has been set.