Sponsors (13)
Official title: To assist Tribal governments in the management of buffalo and buffalo habitat and the reestablishment of buffalo on Indian land.
Introduced March 17, 2026 by Jeff Hurd · Last progress March 17, 2026
The bill shifts significant authority, resources, and conservation benefits to Tribes—supporting cultural restoration, local economies, and bison recovery—while creating new federal costs, administrative and legal complexity, potential local conflicts, and time-limited program uncertainty unless Congress renews the authorities.
Tribal governments and communities gain substantially greater authority and formal roles to manage buffalo, habitat, and related policy (strengthening tribal sovereignty and allowing government-to-government decisionmaking).
Tribes and nearby rural communities receive funding, technical support, and access to surplus animals that enable herd restoration, local commercial activities (meat and products), mobile processing, and related economic development or subsistence benefits.
Reintroducing and conserving the native bison subspecies on tribal lands supports habitat restoration and broader ecosystem benefits on tribal and adjacent lands.
Taxpayers and federal budgets may face increased spending and administrative costs to fund grants, technical assistance, fee waivers, and program implementation for tribal buffalo restoration.
Beneficiaries, state and local planners, and agencies face uncertainty because the Act automatically expires after seven years unless Congress reauthorizes it, risking service interruptions and planning challenges.
Changes to definitions, added consultation requirements, and new Tribal authorities could create administrative complexity and legal uncertainty for federal and state agencies, slowing implementation or affecting other programs that rely on existing statutory definitions.
Based on analysis of 9 sections of legislative text.
Establishes a federal program to support Tribal-led buffalo restoration and management, authorizes grants/contracts and transfers of surplus federal buffalo, protects tribal confidentiality, and sunsets after seven years.
Creates a federal program to support Tribal-led restoration, management, and use of American buffalo (Bison bison bison) on Indian land. It directs the Department of the Interior to coordinate with Tribes, provide grants/contracts/technical assistance, allow transfer of surplus federal buffalo to Tribes, protect Tribe-identified confidential information, require consultation and a Tribal‑conforming management policy, and preserves treaty rights; all authorities expire after seven years unless reauthorized.