The Future of Wild Bison in Montana
Posted March 30, 2010 in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
What does the future hold for wild bison in Montana? That is a question Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) seeks to answer over the next year.
And the timing couldn’t be better.
Shockingly, Montana is essentially devoid of wild, free-roaming bison. A recently released Environmental Assessment states that “[i]n Montana, wild bison only exist within the designated bison-tolerant zones near Yellowstone National Park.”
Montana is an enormous state with significant public land and a rich history of public wildlife and wildlife restoration. As such, it is inconceivably insane that wild bison are found nowhere in the Treasure State except for a few tiny seasonal “designated tolerance zones” near Yellowstone National Park.
Fortunately, Montana appears to be taking its dearth of wild bison seriously, and it put the right guy in charge of this significant undertaking, 33-year FWP veteran Arnie Dood.
Dood’s job is to travel across the state, meet with as many interested people as possible, and determine where wild, free-roaming bison populations can be reestablished.
And Dood’s not talking about fenced, neutered, culled populations of “wild” bison. No, the goal here is to learn where bison as a wildlife species -- no different than deer, elk, or antelope -- can be restored to the Montana landscape.
Bison restoration is critically important both specifically to Montana and generally to wild bison in North America. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) just released “American Bison: Status Survey and Conservation Guidelines 2010,” and the news is not good.
While tens of millions of wild bison roamed the North American plains a few centuries ago, ranging from Alaska to northern Mexico, the American bison is now listed as Near Threatened on IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Species. Particularly concerning is that wild bison make up a miniscule percentage of the bison alive today; over 90% of the continental population is found in commercial herds (and of the relatively few wild herds that exist, most are small, intensively managed, and contain cattle genes).
Restoring wild bison populations in Montana will help protect the species over the long term, benefit Montana’s grassland ecosystems, and rejuvenate rural communities struggling in a changing economy.
With the paucity of wild bison in Montana, Dood is addressing a blank canvas -- an incomplete landscape yearning for the return of the thundering hooves of North America’s largest land mammal.
And, in a wise first step, FWP is seeking public input via an online survey. The survey is open to anyone, so please take a few minutes and let Montana know what you think about the future of wild bison in Big Sky Country.
The history of bison in America is a horribly dark story. In the name of commerce and conquest, we came frighteningly close to eradicating bison from the face of the earth. Montana now has a chance to improve itself and conciliate some of our past wrongdoings to this awe-inspiring creature.
I hope it seizes this precious opportunity.
