ND/SD bison ranch owned by Fla. man in trouble again

Authorities have impounded as many as 6,000 bison at a ranch belonging to a millionaire businessman on the North Dakota-South Dakota border after animals died and others were struck by vehicles when they escaped the facility in search of food, a sheriff said Tuesday. Thirteen bison have been found dead at the ranch owned by real estate developer Maurice Wilder, of Clearwater, Fla., sheriffs say. Three animals involved in vehicle collisions in South Dakota have been destroyed, and officials on both sides of the border expect to find more bison carcasses once the snow melts. Corson (S.D.) County Sheriff Keith Gall said passers-by and neighboring ranchers notified authorities that bison at Wilder's ranch could be neglected and starving to death. He said South Dakota authorities have been caring for the bison herd under a court order since Feb. 2. Gall said the county has spent more than $50,000 in the past week tending the bison in harsh winter conditions and will continue to do so until a judge determines the herd's fate. The county has purchased hay and has hired snowplow crews to keep ranch roads open for access to the animals. Wilder, whose ranch spans some 35,000 acres in the Dakotas, did not return telephone calls from The Associated Press on Tuesday...more