Ranchers round up stray Wilder bison, auction may be held if they aren't paid

The Sioux County sheriff took possession of 37 Wilder Ranch bison Monday and says he'll sell them himself unless the rancher owner pays three local ranchers for feeding them all winter. Sheriff Frank Landeis said the bison have been loose since November on three ranches near Selfridge and he and the ranchers had had enough of the situation. A group of ranchers, the sheriff and the Bureau of Indian Affairs' game and fish department used four-wheelers and pickups and drove the bison to a corral on one of the ranches. Landeis notified ranch owner Maurice Wilder of Florida that he expects $45,000 by Friday or the bison will be sold at a livestock auction in North Dakota. He said money either from Wilder or the auction will pay the ranchers $39,000 for tons of consumed and spoiled hay and $6,000 to the county to cover fuel and manpower in Monday's roundup. "This has got to quit. These guys are supposed to feed their cows and these buffalo too? Huh uh," Landeis said, referring to the ranchers. "Enough's enough."...more