The tribe is unhappy that the bison hunt was ended Feb. 15, so that the serious slaughter of bison could be begin.
The solution to the entire controversy is to let the bison roam outside Yellowstone Park, but that will be over Montana Department of Livestock’s stinking corpse.
Story in the Billings Gazette. By Mike Stark. Nez Perce Tribe, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks clash over hunt for bison
Ralph Maughan
Dr. Ralph Maughan is professor emeritus of political science at Idaho State University. He was a Western Watersheds Project Board Member off and on for many years, and was also its President for several years. For a long time he produced Ralph Maughan's Wolf Report. He was a founder of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition. He and Jackie Johnson Maughan wrote three editions of "Hiking Idaho." He also wrote "Beyond the Tetons" and "Backpacking Wyoming's Teton and Washakie Wilderness." He created and is the administrator of The Wildlife News.
One good thing; this conflict with the tribes tends to throw a small monkey wrench into the IBMP. It would be helpful if the tribes pushed their treaty rights into demanding expanded habitat for bison in Montana.
Quote of the year: “We’re disappointed,” Smith said. “We didn’t want every bison to come out of the park to be killed by hunters, which is what happened last year.”
Yet, DOL rounds all of them up anyway. I agree with Ralph’s statement…
This seems like a no-brainer to an outsider. The livestock association wants the buffalo dead, right? Let the tribes have them. What is the issue?
Cowboy, the issue is habitat and the mindless and brutal livestock style management the agencies are imposing upon bison because the ranchers refuse to permit bison any habitat at all in Montana.
RH: Thanks again. I do not know the history of this (obviously) long battle. I figured that I was oversimplifying the issue, but I wanted to know the answer. It certainly seems disingenuous of the state to get angry at the tribes for supposedly overhunting when the state is going to slaughter the bison anyway.
When you say “the ranchers refuse to permit any habitat at all in Montana” do you mean their lobby refuses to permit any habitat to be defined as bison habitat? Obviously there is some habitat the bison are using becuse they’re there, right?
what is sad to me is its not even a hunt,, the indians ride the road between gardiner and jardine, and if the bison are there, they will shoot them out of the window of there car. strap a rope to them and drag them down the hill,, lots of dignity there,,
YOU SAID: Cwboy the Cat Says:
February 29, 2008 at 10:58 am
This seems like a no-brainer to an outsider. The livestock association wants the buffalo dead, right? Let the tribes have them. What is the issue?
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The livestock industry and lobbyist are run like the Mafia. Who cares what they want or say? They’ve had their say for nearly 200 years now. We can thank them for destroying our intact eco-systems.
The livestock industry only cares about animals as far as how many profits it can get them.
They have DIRECTLY CAUSED the near extinction of the buffalo, the near extinction of the gray wolf and lots of other species so they can graze their cattle wherever they want.
They leave steak dinners out in open country on predator habitat inviting predators — and then bam!– They kill the predators when they come to dine!
Coyotes are shot IN ADVANCE of calving season! Just “in case” they attack!
What kind of B.S. is that? And our government is subsidizing it!
They are grazing their cattle on our public lands, fouling up our water systems, destroying complete eco-systems so they can maintain their “lifestyle.”
I’m not dissing cowboys; I’m dissing the owners — the rancher who owns the livestock and uses lethal means to “control” predators and the multimillion dollar corporations who are being subsidizied with our tax dollars to graze their animals on habitat that our wildlife needs desperately.
What to do?
Contact your congress people and demand that “Wildlife Services” predator control program (to appease the livestock industry) is DEFUNDED.
Barb – Amen. However, contacting anyone in Idaho’s delegation or state government to try and help rein in the coyote-killing WS would be a waste of time. Help is going to have to come from somewhere else.