Endless Prairie Buffalo Project
The restoration of a cultural and ecological keystone species.
About the Project
The Endless Prairie Buffalo Project is a collaborative wildlife restoration and community-benefits initiative between the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of Fort Peck, EPIC, Defenders of Wildlife, and Kingfisher Parker. Together, we are committed to supporting and expanding the return of buffalo to Tribal lands across the Northern Plains.
At the heart of this effort is the translocation of wild buffalo from Yellowstone National Park to Tribal communities; this process is grounded in partnership, guided by Tribal sovereignty, and carried out with deep respect for cultural protocols and self-determination.
Why It Matters
Millions of buffalo once roamed North America, moving season after season through seas of rich grasslands. Their migration sustained both the land and the Indigenous Peoples of the Plains. For many Tribal Nations, the buffalo is sacred, regarded as kin and central to cultural, spiritual, and economic life. But today, only small, isolated populations remain. The American Buffalo– recognized as the national mammal of the United States– struggles to find the habitat it needs to thrive, as the grasslands it depends on have been diminished and degraded. These same grasslands are now the epicenter of the planet’s most severe biodiversity crisis. The near-eradication of this keystone species has led not only to ecological decline, but to profound cultural, health, and economic consequences for Native communities.
However, after more than a century of absence, buffalo are returning to landscapes across the Great Plains with Tribal Nations leading the efforts. Tribes continue to work to restore fragmented grassland ecosystems and advance this pivotal pillar of cultural revitalization; the Endless Prairie Buffalo Project aims to support this stewardship, uplift Tribal restoration leadership, and ensure sustainable funding for these efforts for years to come.
“My generation never got to grow up around buffalo, and now, my children and my grandchildren are able to witness them being on our homeland,”
Biodiversity Credits: Sustaining Stewardship
To fund the translocation, restore herds and habitats, and support long-term stewardship of the prairies, the Endless Prairie Buffalo Project is pioneering the use of biodiversity credits, an innovative, market-based, environmental finance tool. Biodiversity credits allow private entities to finance (aka, purchase) conservation activities, functioning like a certificate that represents a measured and evidence-based unit of positive biodiversity outcome. This approach allows the Fort Peck Tribes of the Endless Prairie Project collaboration to secure sustainable funding, while supporting Tribal conservation, financial, and leadership sovereignty.
We are actively seeking partners to support this transformative effort to return Yellowstone buffalo to Tribal lands across the Northern Plains. For more information, please contact Chris Parker at chris@kingfisherparker.net or call/text to 347-267-8321.
Our Goals
What’s New
Photos for this page provided by:
Ft. Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes