| Yellowstone Bison Slaughter
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Article 2/07/05 |
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| Montana
tribes in line for bison permits
By Ron Selden, Indian Country Today
2/07/05 |
HELENA,
Mont. - The Montana Legislature is considering
a proposal to give two state-issued buffalo hunting permits
per year to tribes in the state.
Senate Bill 91, sponsored by Sen. Frank Smith, D-Poplar,
calls for the licenses to be awarded to tribes free of
charge and before any additional licenses are issued to
kill bison migrating out of Yellowstone National Park,
which Montana shares with neighboring Wyoming.
In its current form, the bill says the bison ''must be
harvested by tribal members in accordance with the traditional
ceremonies of each tribe.'' In addition, it says all parts
of the harvested animals ''may be possessed and used by
each designated tribe in the manner that the tribe sees
fit.''
At a Jan. 18 hearing before the Senate Fish and Game Committee,
Smith noted that SB 91 was introduced before the Montana
Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission voted to cancel this
year's hunt. Nonetheless, the legislation, if passed,
would be in place for future bison hunting if it occurs.
State-licensed bison hunting has not taken place since
1990, after years of controversy over shooting the animals
as they left the park's boundaries in search of winter
forage. The 2003 Legislature again authorized hunts as
part of a state strategy to manage the federal herd, now
estimated at between 4,000 and 4,300 animals.
Cattle interests have so far won out in the management
debate because some wild bison carry brucellosis, a disease
that could cause cows to miscarry if it is transmitted
to livestock. So far, no case of such transmission has
been recorded in the wild, and there is an impasse over
allowing the bison to roam over more Montana winter range
outside of the park.
The Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission earlier decided
to issue 10 buffalo hunting permits this year, and a drawing
was set up to allocate the tags. But incoming Gov. Brian
Schweitzer appointed three new members to the commission,
and the reconstituted panel on Jan. 10 voted 4 - 1 to
cancel the hunt.
Schweitzer and the commissioners argue that killing only
10 of the herd would do nothing to control their population,
and that it risked giving the state another international
round of unwanted bad publicity if it wasn't done right.
Heightened controversy about the issue, they reasoned,
also could further restrict the use of hunting as a management
tool later.
The next day the commission voted 3 - 2 to move ahead
with the drawing with an eye toward having an expanded
hunt next winter.
Other than Smith, no other proponents addressed SB 91.
Mike Mease, campaign coordinator and founder of the Buffalo
Field Campaign, an advocacy group, testified as the only
opponent. He noted that multiple tribes in the region
have treaty rights that include hunting. He suggested
that there be a broader discussion before licenses are
given to only Montana tribes.
Jeff Hagener, director of the state Department of Fish,
Wildlife and Parks, spoke at the hearing as an informational
witness, meaning the agency is not taking a stand on the
bill, at least at this point.
Hagener said SB 91 probably needs some amending, in part
to clarify exactly how the tribal permits might be allocated
and how it would be determined which tribes got permits
if only two were issued annually. The committee has not
yet voted on Smith's proposal.
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