Manuscript Report 176

ABSTRACT

Wood bison (Bison bison athabascae) in Northern Canada were nearly eliminated during the late 1800s.As part of a program to establish a minimum of three free-ranging populations of wood bison in their historical range, the Nahanni wood bison population was established in 1980. Twenty-eight wood bison from Elk Island National Park (EINP) were released into the Nahanni Butte area, with supplemental releases in 1989 and 1998 of 12 and 59 individuals. Limited aerial surveys to monitor population monitoring were conducted in the 1990s.  In March 2004, we conducted the first systematic aerial line transect survey of the Nahanni wood bison winter range, covering an area of 5082 km² of the southwestern Northwest Territories, southeastern Yukon Territory, and northeastern British Columbia. The 2004 population estimate was 399 non-calf bison (CV = 0.32). We also flew a reconnaissance survey along the Alaska Highway corridor from Liard Hotsprings, British Columbia to Lower Post, Yukon Territory, in the winter range of the Nordquist wood bison population, but only 6 bison were observed.