Bison Range planning meeting in Kalispell tonight

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is holding a pair of public meetings in Polson and Kalispell this week as it embarks on creating a new plan to govern management of the National Bison Range in Moiese.

The first scoping meeting took place at the Red Lion Ridgewater Inn’s Echo Room in Polson on Tuesday.

The second meeting will be held at Kalispell’s ImagineIF Library’s Community Meeting Room Wednesday, June 7, from 5 to 7 p.m.

The meetings follow the agency’s announcement last month that it would begin developing comprehensive conservation plans and accompanying environmental analyses for the Bison Range and, separately, the rest of the units that make up the National Bison Range Complex.

That announcement opened a 30-day public comment period, which began on May 18, 2017.

Once finalized, the plans will outline the resource management goals and wildlife-dependent visitor recreational opportunities for the wildlife refuges over the next 15 years.

Both meetings will follow an informal, open-house format.

Brief presentations will be given at 6 p.m., but attendees are invited to arrive anytime between 5 and 7 p.m. to meet with Fish and Wildlife Service personnel, learn more about the planning process and provide input.

To learn more about the National Bison Range visit https://www.fws.gov/refuge/national_bison_range/.