Another culture that shares these plains with ranchers is on the opposite side of the bison issue. They’re American Indian tribes—Sioux, Assiniboine, and Gros Ventre—that have been lobbying to receive many of Yellowstone Park’s surplus bison. Tribal leaders find themselves in a new range war with ranchers as they try, through the courts and the Montana legislature, to enable the restoration of wild bison to reservations as well as non-tribal public lands. But what excites conservationists, and troubles ranchers, is that the CMR represents a foothold on the plains that could enable bison to be returned to a wider landscape, one occupied mainly by beef cattle. Much of the prairie north of the CMR all the way to the Canadian border—an area nearly the size of Indiana—is managed by the BLM, whose principle function is to award permits allowing ranchers to graze cattle on public lands. Many conservationists are urging the BLM to amend these coveted grazing permits—they traditionally pass down from generation to generation of the same ranch family and are fundamental to the financial security of most Western ranches—to include wild bison. In dry years, there won’t be enough grass to feed both beef and bison, and ranchers worry that once buffalo are allotted some of this precious forage, their cattle could lose out. outdoorlife/blogs/open-country/2013/09/new-bison-war
Posted on: Thu, 19 Sep 2013 10:33:48 +0000