Carlile To Transport More Than Two Dozen Bison
July 19, 2022
BOLSTERING BISON: CARLILE TO TRANSPORT MORE THAN TWO DOZEN OF NORTH AMERICA’S LARGEST ANIMALS
ANCHORAGE – Carlile Transportation, an Alaska shipping company, is working in partnership with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) on the latest phase of a major wood bison restoration project that has been in the works for several decades. Twenty-eight yearling wood bison are headed to the Lower Yukon-Innoko area as part of a long-term restoration project spearheaded by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
Carlile is scheduled to transport the yearlings to Nenana from the Large Animal Research Station at the University of Alaska Fairbanks on July 20. This group of bison was among 40 animals that came from Elk Island National Park in Canada this April as part of a long-term partnership between ADF&G and Parks Canada. The transport and release of these 28-yearling bison to the Lower Yukon-Innoko rivers area is a continuation of wood bison restoration efforts in Alaska. Wood bison are native to Interior Alaska and Northwestern Canada. By the early 1900s, they had disappeared from Alaska and only a few hundred remained in Canada. As part of the effort to restore the species to much of North America,130 wood bison were released in the Lower Yukon-Innoko rivers area in Alaska in 2015.
Alaska Shipping Company, Carlile has partnered with ADF&G since 2008, providing transportation services for hay, other foods, and building materials over the years of planning leading up to the 2015 release of wood bison to the wild. After transport to Nenana from Fairbanks, this group of yearling bison will travel by barge to the Lower Yukon-Innoko rivers area to join the existing wild herd.
“We believe in contributing to the communities we serve. Carlile is pleased to work in partnership with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game on this important program,” said Carlile Heavy Haul Project Manager Andy Lewallen.
“It is actions like Carlile’s that are the very essence and spirit of the wood bison restoration effort. Their generosity, dedication, and passion for the restoration of wood bison symbolize the efforts of a devoted, far-reaching, and diverse coalition of individuals and groups who called for and strongly support the return of this native species to the wild in Alaska. The care and transport of North America’s largest land mammal is a very complex task, and Carlile has and continues to contribute to the success of this work. Carlile is to be commended for being an important part of this amazing team effort to bring wood bison back to the Great Land,” said Darren Bruning, Regional Supervisor/Wood
Bison Restoration Team.