There are no wild bison, year-round
in Montana. The only public, wild bison we have are those that
visit Montana seasonally from Yellowstone National Park. These
bison carry an immense bio/political disadvantage: many are
infected with brucellosis, a disease possibly transferable to
domestic cattle.
Yellowstone bison have not
become established in the limited Montana range where up to
250 have been permitted only since 2016. Justified or not, expansion
of Yellowstone bison into Montana will continue to be politically
difficult.
Meanwhile, the gene-based wild
characteristics of bison herds all over the 48 states are declining.
The need to reestablish a wild herd, with natural selection
to maintain valuable wild characteristics, is becoming more
critical with each new generation of bison.
In Montana, there is the possibility
to restore wild, public, brucellosis-free bison on an area of
mostly contiguous public land, anchored to a major wildlife
refuge. This area includes the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife
Refuge. Being on the Great Plains, it is the naturally-associated
homeland of plains bison. It offers the best opportunity to
restore a wild bison herd, anywhere south of Canada. Recommendations
to reestablish bison on the Refuge go back to 1937.
In Montana, recent analyses
and plans to restore wild bison began in 2001. Promises have
been made and forgotten. Options have been studied in terms
of biology, economics, and public opinions. Public meetings
to discuss bison issues have been frequent. A new federal Refuge
management plan has welcomed bison, to no avail. A Montana non-specific
(“programmatic”) plan has been offered as an environmental
impact statement. In 2020, it was decided to proceed by soliciting
site-specific proposals for bison restoration – for still
more analysis and public input. After 19 years, any future for
wild, public bison in Montana remains in doubt!
Meanwhile, the Montana legislature
has attempted to eliminate the possibility of wild bison in
the state, or to limit restoring public bison to yet another
small, penned, domesticating herd. Most legislative bills were
not passed. Some were vetoed by the Governor. However, the potential
for legislative foreclosure of any future for public, wild bison
in Montana remains.
Clearly, strong citizen support
– in the political arena – will be necessary to
reestablish wild bison in Montana. Recent polls show that 70%
of Montana voters support restoration of wild bison on the Charles
M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge. However, there is lack
of a broad understanding of “wildness” and its requirements
for bison. This could lead to establishing an inadequate herd,
highly constrained to a limited range – as a politically
doable surrogate for wild bison. Many such herds already exist
south of Canada. Another would add nothing to conservation of
wild bison.
The Montana Wild Bison Restoration
Coalition seeks to address this problem with two goals: