Agency moves to transfer bison range to tribes

Two days before the official end of Barack Obama’s presidency, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced it was initiating an environmental review to consider returning the National Bison Reserve to the Flathead Indian Reservation.

In its announcement Wednesday, the agency selected the proposal as its preferred alternative in the review process, the first time it has explicitly endorsed the idea.

Although the proposal is not a new one, the federal wildlife agency reignited controversy when it announced last March that it had begun discussions with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes about the possibility of restoring the 18,766-acre wildlife refuge to tribal authority.

The tribes have for years advocated for a return of the lands, which were unilaterally removed from the reservation by Congress in 1908 to create a wildlife refuge for American Bison, which were then teetering on the brink of extinction. The tribes successfully sued the federal government decades later — winning a judgment that they had been under-paid for the land — but have consistently maintained that the refuge’s creation was a violation of tribal sovereignty.

Located near Moiese, the Bison Range is part of the National Wildlife Refuge System managed by the federal wildlife agency and is currently home to a herd of 300 to 400 bison.

The Fish and Wildlife Service’s preferred alternative “returns to the tribe control of their traditional lands and cultural resources,” according to the announcement. The land would assume the status of other reservation lands, being held in trust by the Department of the Interior for the benefit of the tribes.

The announcement also identifies two other alternatives: maintaining the status quo, or creating an “annual funding agreement” under which the tribes would assume control, but to a lesser extent.

In a press release on Wednesday, the tribes hailed the agency’s proposal.

“We look forward to cooperating with the service in its preparation of a comprehensive conservation plan, including evaluation of Bison Range restoration,” Tribal Chairman Vernon S. Finley stated in the release. “The Tribes look forward to the day when we can extend our record of natural resources management to the Bison Range, including its bison that descend from the herd managed by Tribal members a century ago.”

A national advocacy group, Public Employees for Environmental Sustainability, was quick to condemn the agency’s move as a last-minute maneuver by the outgoing Obama administration. The organization is currently suing the Fish and Wildlife Service, alleging that it illegally advocated for the transfer proposal before conducting an environmental review.

The agency has maintained it simply began discussions at the time, and had not pushed for the transfer.

“Filing a notice saying that the service finally intends to follow the law does not defeat a lawsuit to force it to comply with the law by a judicially enforceable date,” Paula Dinerstein, the group’s Senior Counsel, stated in a press release Wednesday. “The haste to squeeze this into the Federal Register just before the Trump inauguration suggests a desperate Hail Mary pass.”

The proposed transfer would require Congress to pass new federal legislation. Last year the tribes developed a proposed bill to do so, available at bisonrangeworkinggroup.org. It has yet to be introduced.

It remains unclear whether newly anointed President Donald Trump will continue moving forward with the proposal. Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., has been selected by Trump to lead the Department of the Interior, although he was still awaiting Senate confirmation as of Saturday.

Zinke hasn’t publicly taken a position on transferring the Bison Range.

“I have no doubt that the Salish-Kootenai tribes are capable of managing buffalo,” Zinke previously told the Inter Lake. But he added, “I want to make sure that the land does not get sold — Montana’s not for sale. And I want to make sure that there’s provisions in there to ensure that the land does not get sold and remains public land.”

The Fish and Wildlife Service’s announcement initiated a 30-day public comment period, ending Feb. 17.

To view the proposal or submit comments online, visit bit.ly/2jhAx3v.

Comments can be mailed or hand-delivered to: Toni Griffin, Refuge Planner; NBR CCP, 134 Union Boulevard; Lakewood, CO 80228.