Tribal management for Bison Range back on table

The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes announced Monday that a long-awaited study on tribal co-management of the National Bison Range has been released for public comment.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released its draft environmental assessment of the proposed tribal-federal partnership agreement for operations of the National Bison Range Complex at Moiese.

The partnership is authorized under the federal Tribal Self-Governance Act. The complex is part of the National Wildlife Refuge System, which is administered by the Fish and Wildlife Service.

A 30-day public comment period has begun for the draft assessment that analyzes the proposed agreement between the Wildlife Service and the tribes, as well as several alternatives. After reviewing public comment, the federal agency will finalize the assessment. If no further analysis is found to be necessary, it will then make a decision on whether to approve the proposed agreement.

According to the Associated Press, under the proposed agreement the tribes would be responsible for running the refuge’s biology, fire management, maintenance and visitor services programs, with the government-employed refuge manager signing off on all plans.

“The National Bison Range occupies a special place not only within the Flathead Indian Reservation, but also within the history and culture of the Tribes,” Tribal Chairman Ronald Trahan said in a press release.

“The Bison Range Complex also includes two refuges that are located on tribally owned land. The Ninepipe and Pablo refuges are operated by the Fish and Wildlife Service under an easement granted by the tribes.

“Regardless of how you approach the issue, partnering with the tribes makes sense,” Trahan said.

This is the third attempt at a self-governance agreement sought by the tribes to increase local tribal authority in management of these federal facilities. The first agreement was canceled by the service in 2006. That cancellation was contested by the tribes, resulting in a second agreement signed by Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne in 2008. That agreement was later rescinded by a federal court on procedural grounds, with the court finding that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had not adequately explained its invocation of a categorical exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act when it had approved the 2008 agreement.

According to the tribes, the draft environmental assessment seeks to provide a fuller analysis for the agency’s decision regarding the new agreement.