NESPELEM, Wash. — Over the next couple days, 30 buffaloes will be released between Keller Ridge and Buffalo Lake on the Colville Reservation.
On Oct. 2, 23 buffalo were released to live in the surrounding area. The next day, an additional seven joined them.
This was a gift from the Kalispel tribe who had a surplus of buffalo on their reservation.
Of the 30 buffalo, 29 were female and one is a male. All of them have been vaccinated and are pure buffalo.
Buffalo are considered a key species because of their effect on other species within the same ecosystem. Their grazing helps birds create nests and their wallows can fill with water for drinking.
Secretary for Indian Affairs, Bryan Newland said, ” Through historic funding from the Biden-Harris Administration, we can support tribes in maintaining herds of buffalo. These herds are central to tribes’ cultural, spiritual and nutritional traditions. They also preserve the ecosystem that sustain both bison and tribal communities.”
