Bison moved from Yellowstone to Montana native reservation
FORT BELKNAP, MONT. — Bison once helped sustain Native Americans on the plains of Montana. Now, Indians on the Fort Belknap Reservation say it’s time they returned the favour.
About 150 people gathered Thursday to watch as 34 genetically pure bison from Yellowstone National Park were released on the reservation about 25 kilometres south of Fort Belknap, the Great Falls Tribune reported.
The bison rumbled out of cattle trucks to the cheers of onlookers and disappeared across the prairie land.
“I wouldn’t miss this — gosh,” said Patty Quisno, a tribal council member.
The relocations are part of an attempt to establish new bison herds while curbing the periodic slaughter of the animals when they leave Yellowstone.
Bison “helped us, our ancestors, survive out here on the prairie,” said Mark Azure, who heads the tribe’s bison program.
“So to be able to take that next step, and return the favour, so to speak, it feels good.”
Last year, the state Fish, Wildlife and Parks Department transplanted 70 bison from Yellowstone to the Fort Peck reservation in northeastern Montana, with the intent that half of the animals would be taken to Fort Belknap, about 290 kilometres west.
Some ranchers challenged the move, fearing the bison could spread disease and compete with cattle for grazing. But earlier this summer the Montana Supreme Court ruled the transfers were legal.
The bison released Thursday tested negative for brucellosis and were released in a 404-hectare pasture with a 2.4-metre fence. One cow was injured and was not released.
Tribal councilman Mike Fox said the tribe will manage a herd of about 150 bison and use them as seed stock for other agencies or tribes wanting to reintroduce bison on their land.
The tribe has a commercial herd of 500 bison that have cattle genes and are kept in a separate pasture.
Fox said bison disappeared from the Fort Belknap area around 1910.
“It’s a homecoming for the animals,” Fox said.