Restoration of wild bison will require large landscapes. Photo George Wuerthner
Bison were critical ecosystem influences on grasslands of North America, particularly in the Great Plains “bison belt.” They provided prey or carrion for wolves, grizzlies, other smaller predators and scavengers, and food for humans. In addition, bison grazing patterns influenced vegetation […]
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Bison herd. Photo George Wuerthner
Many authors today suggest that Indigenous people somehow behaved differently from other humans, particularly western culture that now dominates the globe in their relationship and exploitation of natural lands. The general theme is that while the human influence pre-European contact was significant, human exploitation was tempered […]
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Due to gross similarities in size, food preference, and appearance, it is often asserted that bison and domestic cattle are ecological analogs. However, a review of their evolutionary history demonstrates that they have significant differences in evolutionary pressures that manifest themselves in strikingly different modes of resource exploitation.
Compared to domestic cattle, bison wander […]
Continue Reading →State, federal and tribal representatives voted again to slaughter 600-900 Yellowstone Park bison this winter. The agencies and tribes use the less offensive sounding euphemism “cull”. But let’s be honest, what happens is nothing more than butchery done to appease the livestock industry.
It is shameful that these agencies and tribes legitimize the annual […]
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THE RESCUE OF AMERICA’S NATIONAL LAND MAMMAL IS CONSIDERED ONE OF THE GREATEST CONSERVATION SUCCESS STORIES EVER AND YET IT’S HARD TO FIND MANY WILD HERDS ON THE MAP by Jim Bailey
During the 20th century, Montana took pride in bringing several species of large mammals, especially big game, back from the brink of extinction. […]
Continue Reading →The threat from House Bill 132
By Jim Bailey
A proposed apparently minor addition to the legal definition of “wild bison” in Montana could eliminate all possibilities for restoring public, wild bison to the state. This seemingly innocent change exists in House Bill 132 which, as of this writing, has passed the Montana House and […]
Continue Reading →DID YOU KNOW?
The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has funneled $10,381,534 in taxpayer money for the Montana Dept. of Livestock to enforce Mont. Code Ann. § 81-2-120.
Wildlife biologists recognize wild buffalo are vulnerable to “extinction or extirpation” in Montana and are listed as […]
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By Stephany Seay, Darrell Geist, and Ken Cole
A female buffalo separated from her family group who will all be killed, is held in a sorting pen at Yellowstone’s Stephens Creek buffalo trap, where she waits before being loaded onto a stock trailer that will take her to the slaughter […]
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The Louvre Museum in France houses some of the most famous art works in the world, including paintings by such well-known artists as Rembrandt and Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa.
What would you think if you heard the famous Louvre Museum began to throw out and burn in the streets these priceless masterpieces saying […]
Continue Reading →In response to a guest editorial I published in the Missoulian on the shameful slaughter of Yellowstone’s bison, a group of three retired USDA range managers wrote a commentary that was published in the Missoulian on December 30th on Yellowstone’s bison. They argue that bison numbers must be reduced, and thus implicitly supporting the Dept. […]
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