Montana Politics Threaten any Future for Public, Wild Bison

Primary elections are over. Now, we move toward November elections that will finalize members of the Montana legislature to meet early in 2021. It will be a critical year, determining any future for restoring public-trust, wild bison in our state, particularly on the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge. The 2021 legislature could extinguish any possibility for public, wild bison in Montana, with little public awareness or input. With all the important competing political issues currently facing the state and nation, the issue of a bison future may be determined with little public understanding and attention. It is therefore imperative that we begin now to stimulate public discussion of the many issues, including truths and myths, surrounding bison restoration.

We have recently sent letters to each candidate for the Montana House of Representatives and Senate, requesting them to consider the issue of bison restoration and to promote public awareness and discussion. We noted the following justifications for restoring public, wild bison within the CMR Refuge:

The Montana Constitution mandates preventing unreasonable degradation of a natural resource, restoring historic, cultural and recreational objects for use and enjoyment by the people, and preserving the opportunity to harvest wild game. These mandates must include wild bison.

The national goal to restore and maintain genetically diverse plains bison is severely constrained by not allowing bison on the CMR Refuge, the largest federal refuge within the historic range of plains bison. Moreover, the Refuge goal of restoring natural biological processes cannot be fulfilled without bison restoration. The Refuge plan welcomes the opportunity to work with Montana in developing a plan and analysis for restoring wild bison on the Refuge.

Polls have shown that 70 percent of Montana voters support restoration of bison on the CMR Refuge.

Legislative guidelines protect and indemnify private property and resources in any bison restoration project.

There is a very large, unmet demand for hunting and harvesting bison in Montana. (There were over 18,000 applications to harvest a bison near Yellowstone Park in 2019.)

Restoring a public-trust, wild bison herd within the CMR Refuge can enhance and diversify economic opportunities in and near Phillips County.

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, with many years of diverse public outreach and inputs, concluded in a Record of Decision that bison management issues can be successfully addressed at a landscape scale and therefore solicited site-specific proposals from Montana citizens.

We encourage our readers to challenge their political candidates to address these issues in their election campaigns and in developing platforms for November. An important part of our wildlife heritage depends upon it. 

Jim Bailey