First real hope for progress on bison

Montana has long grappled with how to manage bison that wander out of Yellowstone National Park onto Montana's private and public lands. Negotiations between state and federal officials and a private landowner outside the Park near Gardiner offer the first hope of real progress for reasonable, professional management of bison in the last few years.

The state of Montana is currently negotiating a 30-year lease with the Church Universal and Triumphant, which owns the Royal Teton Ranch next to Yellowstone, that would remove the cattle on the ranch and allow some brucellosis-free bison to use the ranch as a corridor to reach public U.S. Forest Service land where they can be managed as wildlife. This progressive agreement would initially allow 25 bison through the ranch and would only grow to 100 animals unless other considerations are negotiated or agreed to through the Interagency Bison Management Plan (IBMP).

The removal of cattle on the Royal Teton Ranch will help reduce the risk of brucellosis and help keep Montana's brucellosis-free status. This agreement will also give sportsmen the chance to hunt bison, in keeping with Montana's traditional wildlife management as defined by the North American Fish and Wildlife Conservation model. The lease agreement also lays out very strict containment, monitoring and control measures for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks to follow, protecting other cattle herds within the vicinity. The removal of cattle from the Royal Teton Ranch is clearly identified in the IBMP and has been accepted and supported by some within the livestock industry.

Funding for this lease comes from a combination of federal, state and private entities. The private interests and the state have committed to securing their portion of the funding, but the federal government has been slow to come to the table with the necessary funds. It's now time for Montana's congressional delegation to quickly secure the federal funding necessary to move the issue from where it's been deadlocked for quite some time.

This agreement is a home-grown, reasonable and practical approach where all three parties have responsibility and accountability. The purchase of grazing rights from the Royal Teton Ranch and testing bison that may move through the area is a helpful option for reducing brucellosis in wildlife and the risk to livestock. This agreement improves bison management and helps legitimately resolve a very contentious issue. In short, this is a win-win for everyone.

Montana Wildlife Federation is pleased that we are making forward movement on a real solution to the bison issue.

Chris Marchion, a lifelong Montana hunter and angler, is the current volunteer president of Montana Wildlife Federation and lives in Anaconda.