Since listing, the status of wood bison has improved because enactment and enforcement of national and international laws and treaties have minimized the impacts of hunting and trade, and reintroduction of disease-free herds has increased the number of free-ranging herds in Canada from 1 population of 300 in 1978, to 7 populations totaling 4,414 bison in 2008. In 1974, the first list of federally protected species under the 1973 Endangered Species Act (Act; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) appeared in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), and the wood bison appeared on this list based on its inclusion on the original 1969 list. Because the wood bison was listed under the 1969 Endangered Species Conservation Act and grandfathered in for protection [...]
