Bison meeting attracts little public interest

About a dozen people turned out for a Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks meeting in Kalispell on a long-range plan for managing bison in Montana.

The small turnout suggests that the animal isn’t a pressing issue in Northwest Montana, but it surely is elsewhere in the state. Farmers and ranchers have raised concerns about bison spreading disease to livestock, damaging fences, competing with livestock for rangeland and other issues.

But conservation advocates are looking for some place to establish a free-range herd, with some suggesting areas like the Charles M. Russell Wildlife Refuge. Some hunters have expressed interest in establishing a population that would be controlled through a legal hunt.

In March, about 60 Yellowstone National Park bison were transferred to the Fort Peck Indian Reservation by the state, and three years ago, about 80 bison were transferred to a private ranch in the Bozeman area.

Arnie Dood, a native species specialist with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, said those transfers were aimed at establishing “interim” populations until a long-range plan is developed.

“The question is still, ‘What’s the long-term plan in Montana for this animal?’” Dood said at the meeting Tuesday at the Red Lion Hotel Kalispell. It was one of the first of many similar meetings that will be held across Montana to gather public comments.

By this fall, it’s expected that Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks will have input to develop a proposal outlining where and how many bison might be acceptable. A draft environmental statement isn’t expected until fall 2013 and a final long-range plan may not be ready until 2014.

“We want to be as inclusive and transparent as we can with this program,” Dood said, referring to the long public review process.

The Montana Natural Heritage Program and Fish, Wildlife and Parks have listed bison as a species of concern. They are native to Montana but they are considered at risk due to limited populations, threats to habitat and restricted distribution. Those factors are part of the impetus for examining the potential for a bison restoration program.

Currently, there are only five plains bison conservation herds that have more than 1,000 animals. Genetics experts recommend that all conservation herds have close to 1,000 animals, but about 75 percent of conservation herds have fewer than 400 animals.

After a meeting in Missoula, Gov. Brian Schweitzer told the Associated Press that there is room for wild bison in Montana.

“We’ve got 150,000 head of elk, 500,000 head of deer, antelope that are free-roaming,” Schweitzer said. “It’s a long time before there’s a herd of buffalo that will compete for grass with any of the other wildlife species or cattle.”