Montana recommends moving bison to Indian reservations

Montana wildlife officials on Wednesday said they will recommend the relocation of 68 quarantined Yellowstone National Park bison to two Indian reservations after running into strong opposition by ranchers and landowners to proposals to move the animals to other parts of the state. The bison could be moved to the Fort Peck and Fort Belknap reservations this winter if the Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission approves the recommendation at its Dec. 9 meeting. Tribal officials with the northeastern Montana reservations have been advocating the relocation for several years. They welcomed the news Wednesday and encouraged the commission to take the last step. FWP had originally considered four possible relocation sites, but received an overwhelmingly negative response from residents near the Spotted Dog and Marias River wildlife management areas in southwestern and northern Montana. The ranchers, landowners and hunters in those areas expressed concern with the spread of disease and damage to private property...more