Process begins to chart new Bison Range management plan

The federal agency in charge of the National Bison Range has officially re-started the process to draft a new 15-year management plan for the 18,766-acre wildlife refuge, after a proposal to transfer the lands back to the Flathead Indian Reservation was rescinded last month.

A separate planning process will address management of the rest of the National Bison Range Complex, which includes the Pablo, Lost Trail and Ninepipe national wildlife refuges and the Northwest Montana Wetland Management Districts.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announcement Thursday comes just over a month after U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke reversed course on an Obama Administration proposal to return the Bison Range to the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes.

Neither Thursday’s notice nor follow-up statements from the agency indicate whether the plan might grant the tribes increased management authority over the Bison Range. However, the notice does invite the tribes to participate as a “cooperating agency” in the process, meaning they will work alongside the Fish and Wildlife Service to help develop the plan and an accompanying environmental review.

The tribes have long supported more management authority over the Bison Range, as well as a return of the lands to their jurisdiction. In 1908, Congress unilaterally removed the sprawling property from the reservation and designated it as a federal wildlife preserve, which the tribes have viewed as a violation of their sovereign treaty rights.

Today, the Bison Range is a popular destination for wildlife watchers, more than 163,000 of whom visited the refuge last year to view the estimated 350 to 500 bison that roam within its boundaries. It also supports populations of elk, bighorn sheep, pronghorn deer and other wildlife common to the area, along with more than 200 bird species.

In a statement sent by email Thursday, tribal spokesman Rob McDonald indicated the tribes will push for increased management authority over the Bison Range.

“We appreciate the secretary’s continued interest in exploring tribal management of the Bison Range, particularly in light of potential budget reductions that may be faced by the National Wildlife Refuge System,” the statement reads.

In a separate statement sent after Zinke’s announcement last month, McDonald said the secretary had contacted Tribal Council Chairman Vernon Finley directly, and indicated that he would explore tribal management of the Bison Range.

The two parties previously entered into a shared-management agreement in 2005, following nearly two decades of negotiations. But the Fish and Wildlife Service abruptly dissolved that agreement the following year, alleging problems with the tribes’ performance and work environment. Tribal officials disagreed, dismissing the agency’s action as a political move.

In 2008, a new deal was reached to split management of the refuge, but it ended in 2010 when a federal judge ruled that the funding component of the agreement violated federal law.

Last year, the Fish and Wildlife Service initiated discussions with the tribes to look into the possible transfer of the Bison Range back to the reservation. Over the following months, the tribes sought to build local support for the transfer and drafted legislation to that end, which would require an act of Congress.

The proposal was not without controversy, as local officials worried they would lose federal funding paid to counties with wildlife-refuge land within their borders. And a national group that has historically opposed increasing the tribes’ authority over the Bison Range, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, filed a lawsuit against the Fish and Wildlife Service, alleging it had skirted federal environmental laws.

Just before former President Barack Obama left office in January, the wildlife agency officially endorsed the transfer, but Zinke quickly reversed course, less than two months into his role at the helm of the Department of the Interior.

“The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes will play a pivotal role in our discussions about the best path forward,” Zinke said in his statement last month. He added, “CSKT will be instrumental in helping make this significant place a true reflection of our cultural heritage.”

Reporter Sam Wilson can be reached at 758-4407 or by email at swilson@dailyinterlake.com.

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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is accepting public comments to develop a draft comprehensive conservation plan for the National Bison Range, along with an accompanying environmental impact statement, through June 19. The 15-year strategic plan serves as the guiding document for management decisions made on the refuge.

Comments can be submitted by email to scoping_NBR@fws.gov, or mailed to Toni Griffin, Refuge Planner, NBR CCP; 134 Union Blvd.; Lakewood, CO 80228.

Separately, the agency is also accepting public comments to develop a comprehensive conservation plan for the other portions of the National Bison Range Complex: the Pablo, Lost Trail and Ninepipe national wildlife refuges and the Northwest Montana Wetland Management Districts.

Comments can be submitted by email to scoping_pablo_ninepipe@fws.gov, or mailed to: Toni Griffin, Refuge Planner, NBR CCP; 134 Union Blvd.; Lakewood, CO 80228.

For more information on either plan, contact Griffin at 303-236-4378.