The Grand Canyon bison hunt is not a hunt in the ordinary sense. Hunting is illegal inside Grand Canyon National Park, so the only true hunting season for the Kaibab Plateau herd takes place on adjacent Kaibab National Forest land through an Arizona Game and Fish Department draw. Inside the park, the National Park Service has used two separate tools to shrink the herd: live capture and transfer to tribes, and a one-time 2021 “skilled volunteer” lethal-removal lottery that drew more than 45,000 applicants for 12 spots. That volunteer program has not been repeated since.
Can You Hunt Bison Inside the Park?
No. Grand Canyon National Park does not allow sport hunting, and no permit or tag sold by any agency authorizes it. What the Park Service can do under its own authority is remove animals that are damaging park resources, using either staff or civilian volunteers. That authority is why the 2021 program was carefully framed as “lethal removal” by “skilled volunteers” rather than as a hunt.1KSAT. Skilled Volunteers Wanted to Kill Bison Near Grand Canyon
Since 2018, the main in-park reduction tool has been live capture. Bison are rounded up on the North Rim and shipped through the InterTribal Buffalo Council to tribes that use them for food and cultural programs. Between 2018 and the fall of 2024, 306 bison were removed and 282 were transferred to eight tribes, with a single roundup on September 13, 2024 sending 100 animals to the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe in South Dakota.2National Park Service. 100 Bison Transferred From North Rim None of this process involves individual hunters or hunting tags.
The 2021 Skilled Volunteer Lottery
The only time members of the public have been allowed to shoot bison inside the park came through a 2021 pilot run jointly by the Park Service and the Arizona Game and Fish Department. More than 45,000 people applied. AZGFD ran a random lottery that pulled 25 names, and 12 applicants cleared verification. Two later withdrew, leaving 10 participants who worked in groups of three during weekly periods from late September through October 2021.3National Park Service. Skilled Volunteer FAQs4NRA Hunters’ Leadership Forum. Hunter Volunteers Kill 4 Bison in Grand Canyon National Park in Pilot Program
Eligibility was narrow. Applicants had to be U.S. citizens at least 18 years old, pass a background check with no criminal or wildlife violations, and self-certify a high level of physical fitness, since the work happens on foot at around 8,000 feet of elevation with no motorized vehicles or pack animals permitted. A marksmanship test required three of five shots inside a four-inch circle at 100 yards using a firearm of at least .30 caliber firing a 165-grain or heavier bullet. Employees of the NPS, other Department of the Interior agencies, and AZGFD could not apply.3National Park Service. Skilled Volunteer FAQs5National Parks Traveler. Grand Canyon National Park Seeks Skilled Volunteers North Rim Bison Reduction
The terms differed in several ways from a state hunt. There was no tag fee. Each selected volunteer could bring three to five support volunteers to help field-dress carcasses and carry meat out of the backcountry. In exchange for the removal work, a volunteer could receive up to one bison; any parts not claimed went to the park’s 11 traditionally associated tribes. Participation did not use bonus points, did not count against lifetime species limits, and did not affect any big game tag the volunteer already held with AZGFD.1KSAT. Skilled Volunteers Wanted to Kill Bison Near Grand Canyon3National Park Service. Skilled Volunteer FAQs
The result was four female bison killed. Part of the reasoning behind the pilot had been to push bison toward adjacent forest land where legal hunting is allowed, but officials later concluded that human presence and gunfire were not enough to move the herd out of the park.6KNAU. Grand Canyon National Park Won’t Expand Volunteer Bison Killing Pilot Project
The park did not repeat the volunteer program in 2022, citing updated survey work showing the herd was closer to the target of about 200 animals thanks to the live-capture transfers. Officials said the tool remains available for future use, but it has not been deployed again, and no new lottery has been announced.6KNAU. Grand Canyon National Park Won’t Expand Volunteer Bison Killing Pilot Project If you want to be considered when and if it returns, applications were handled through the Arizona Game and Fish Department.
Arizona’s Bison Draw Hunt on the Kaibab Plateau
The actual legal way to hunt a Grand Canyon-area bison is through the Arizona Game and Fish Department. AZGFD runs a traditional draw hunt on Kaibab National Forest land in Game Management Unit 12A, which covers territory south of Jacob Lake along Highway 67, just outside the park’s North Rim boundary. The House Rock Wildlife Area was the historical hunting ground for this population, but as the herd shifted onto the plateau and into the park, the forest-side hunt on 12A has become more significant.7Arizona Game and Fish Department. Bison Hunting in Arizona
Tags are competitive and expensive. Based on the 2025 fee schedule, including the application fee:
- Bull or any-bison tag: $1,113 resident, $5,415 nonresident
- Cow or yearling tag: $663 resident, $3,265 nonresident
- Yearling-only tag: $363 resident, $1,765 nonresident8eRegulations. Arizona Hunting Licenses and Fees
All Arizona bison hunts require mandatory harvest reporting and a physical check-in. AZGFD also runs mandatory pre-hunt orientations for hunts at the Raymond and House Rock Wildlife Areas.7Arizona Game and Fish Department. Bison Hunting in Arizona
Access matters because of weather. Highway 67, the main road onto the Kaibab Plateau, typically closes in mid-November for the winter and reopens each year on May 15. When Highway 67 is closed, hunters can still reach the plateau through Forest Road 22 south of Fredonia.7Arizona Game and Fish Department. Bison Hunting in Arizona The park boundary is a hard line: a bison standing on forest land is legal game with the right tag, and the same animal 100 yards north inside park territory is not.
Why the Herd Is Being Reduced
The reason there is any removal program at all is that the North Rim herd grew to an estimated 400 to 600 animals by the mid-2010s and was projected to double again within a decade.9National Parks Conservation Association. Home on the Range10National Park Service. Bison Impacts and Monitoring11High Country News. Bison Are Flourishing, but Not Always in the Right Place A 2017 attempt to fence off springs failed when bison destroyed most of the fencing within a season.
The 2017 management plan, formalized in a Finding of No Significant Impact signed September 1, 2017, authorized both live capture and the skilled-volunteer lethal removal, with a goal of fewer than 200 bison on the North Rim.12NPS Park Planning. Initial Bison Herd Reduction FONSI That is the plan still in effect.
Current Herd Status and the Dragon Bravo Fire
The reduction effort has worked, but has not finished. A January 2023 pre-calving survey estimated 227 bison on the North Rim. By the summer of 2024, the estimate was approximately 378, still roughly double the under-200 target.13Grand Canyon Conservancy. Wildlife Projects on the North Rim2National Park Service. 100 Bison Transferred From North Rim
Operations then stopped. The Dragon Bravo Fire ignited on July 4, 2025 and burned 149,399 acres across the Kaibab Plateau, including more than 71,000 acres inside park boundaries, destroying 114 buildings (among them the century-old Grand Canyon Lodge) and affecting 73 miles of trails.14KNAU. Park Service Releases Executive Summary of Dragon Bravo Fire Impacts No bison capture or transfer operations took place in 2025 because of the fire. More than two-thirds of bison habitat burned at low severity, so organic matter and root systems remained intact and natural recovery is expected.15National Park Service. Dragon Bravo Fire BAER Executive Summary As of early 2026, the park is evaluating whether to resume live capture and is working with partner agencies on a longer-term strategy.16National Park Service. Bison – Grand Canyon National Park Anyone watching for a return of the in-park volunteer lottery, or for changes to the Unit 12A draw as the forest-side habitat recovers, should check with the Park Service and AZGFD directly before planning a season.