The population of Farewell plains bison in Southwest Alaska is the highest biologists have seen in years, according to an state Department of Fish and Game article published last month.
Last summer, biologists counted 400 bison in a one-hour survey flight south of McGrath, 200 more than were counted in 2011.
The Farewell herd, one of four plains bison herds in Alaska, lives in drainages that flow into the Kuskokwim River. The animals are not native to Alaska; they are descendants of 23 plains bison transplanted from Montana to near Delta Junction in 1928.
The article states the Farewell herd had 350 animals in the late 1990s. In 2006, Fish and Game was able to spot only 82 bison. Two years later, radio collars were used to locate the herd.
Thirty bison are now equipped with radio collars, and Fish and Game said it is planning to collar an additional 20 in the spring.
Fish and Game blamed the bison population decline on hunting as well as the 1977 Farewell fire, after which there was "less favorable forage for bison."
In 2007, the number of hunting permits was cut back to 10: five for the fall and five for the spring hunt. Previously, 40 to 80 permits were distributed annually, Fish and Game said.