South Rim Visitor Center is open today from 9 am to 4 pm. Ranger programs are being presented. Follow the link for a list of visitor services and their hours of operation. The North Rim has closed to all vehicle traffic for the winter. Reopens May 15. More
Tuesday, February 18, 2025 —South Rim High 48°F (8°C) —Low: 26°F (-3°C).
Trail closures: Bright Angel Trail between Havasupai Gardens and including the Silver Bridge CLOSED. River Trail CLOSED. Phantom Ranch CLOSED. Plateau Point and Plateau Point Trail CLOSED. Hikers visit this link for details and water availability. More
Bison are only found on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. They are wild animals and are unpredictable. We recommend maintaining a distance of 100 feet (30 meters) from them, and when they are within 100 feet of the road, it is recommended to view them from inside your vehicle. Please use established gravel or paved pull-outs to park vehicles completely off the roadway (all wheels right of the white line). Do not walk or park in the road. B-roll video by L/Cisneros, July 2022.
Destinations of Bison transferred to Native American Tribes from Grand Canyon National Park.
NPS Map/ C. Talley
Management of the Kaibab Plateau Bison Herd
The present day Kaibab Plateau Bison Herd is one of the few unfenced wild herds in the U.S., and as such, wanders across multiple jurisdictions. The herd is co-managed by Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona Game & Fish, and the Kaibab National Forest. To learn more about the Kaibab Plateau Bison Herd visit the Bison at Grand Canyon: Kaibab Plateau Herd Information page.
Herd Reduction to Date (September 2024)
Since reduction efforts began in 2018, park staff have removed 306 bison from the North Rim with 282 transferred to eight different American Indian tribes through the InterTribal Buffalo Council (see map).
Lethal removal of bison with public volunteers will not occur in 2024.
Based on the success of bison reduction efforts, lethal removal operations will not be necessary in 2024 to reach the park’s stated reduction goal. Park managers will focus on live capture and transfer operations. Bison selected for removal will be transferred to the InterTribal Buffalo Council for distribution to American Indian tribes who request live bison to augment their own herds.
If you have any specific questions related to bison management at Grand Canyon, please e-mail us.
Bison Management on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park
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This video presents an overview of bison management on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. By 2025, the National Park Service will reduce the size of the overpopulated Kaibab Plateau bison herd through live capture and transfer to American Indian Tribes and lethal removal with Skilled Volunteers. Grand Canyon National Park is reducing the size to under 200 in order to protect park resources—including vegetation, water, and sacred archeologic sites—from the impacts of the bison.
On Sept. 13, Grand Canyon wildlife managers successfully relocated 100 bison from the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. All bison were transferred to the Intertribal Buffalo Council, which transported them to the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe in South Dakota.
Since reduction efforts began in 2018, park staff have removed 306 bison from the North Rim, with 282 transferred to eight different American Indian tribes through an agreement with the Intertribal Buffalo Council.
On September 11, Grand Canyon wildlife managers successfully relocated 58 bison from the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. All bison were transferred to the Intertribal Buffalo Council, who transported the animals to the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of South Dakota.
Bison reduction operations are now complete for 2021 on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. In total, 36 bison were removed through live capture and transfer, and five were removed lethally, reducing the impacts of the herd on the park’s water, vegetation, soils, and culturally significant sites and locations.
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.
The Arizona Game and Fish Commission (AZGFD) and the National Park Service (NPS) entered into an agreement on Friday, September 25, 2020 to reduce the number of bison present on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park.
On September 4, in cooperation with the Intertribal Buffalo Council, Kaibab National Forest, and Arizona Game and Fish Department, Grand Canyon wildlife managers successfully relocated 57 bison from the North Rim.
National Park Service staff closed the doors on livestock trailers yesterday, securing 31 bison inside to transfer them to the InterTribal Buffalo Council who will take them on the journey to join their new herd with the Quapaw tribe in Oklahoma. The transfer of the bison concluded the Grand Canyon National Park's pilot program for corralling and relocating bison from the North Rim.
Grand Canyon National Park is implementing its pilot bison reduction activities on the North Rim this month through live capture and removal of approximately 60-100 animals.
The National Park Service (NPS) will work with cooperating agencies and partners to reduce the size of the bison herd on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park.
The NPS has announced that it will extend the public comment period on the Initial Bison Herd Reduction Environmental Assessment (EA). The EA will now be available for public review and comment through June 14, 2017.