Bison coming back to Rocky Boy

In December of this year, Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation will become home to 15 head of Yellowstone bison for the first time since the late ’90s.

The announcement was made on the Rocky Boy Sustainability Program’s Facebook page Monday, along with the announcement that the program now has accesses to funds for fencing which will be discussed in a meeting sponsored by Rocky Boy Sustainability/Planning on Friday.

Rocky Boy Sustainability Director Jason Belcourt said this is a huge deal for the reservation.

“It’s a big cultural win for us,” Belcourt said, “Buffalo was part of every part of our society back in the day, he was our primary food source, he was present in our ceremonies, there were songs tied to him.”

He also said the bison would have a positive impact on the environment and that they could be used as a food source for the reservation, like they were before the turn of the millennium.

“There’s so many pluses about buffalo and what they did for the prairie,” he said.

He said he always wanted to see bison back on the reservation ever since they lost their habitat in a land swap in the early ’90s.

“I always felt bad about that, so I wanted to bring them home,” he said.

Belcourt said this has become possible due to a grant provided by the Inter-Tribal Buffalo Council for land and fencing.

He said the grant is worth $100,000, but they currently have access to $21,000, which will not be enough to finish the fencing needed for the bison. He said he anticipate a second round of funding will be coming soon.

However, there is some concern among cattle producers regarding brucellosis, a disease that can cause cattle to miscarry, and that many bison carry.

Yellowstone and Fort Peck Indian Reservation, which serves as a waystation for bison before they are distributed to various placed throughout the state, use quarantine measures and screening to make sure that the bison are brucellosis free before sending them on their way, but the concern among cattle producers still exists.

Dana Darlington, a rancher living outside of Big Sandy and former president of the North Central Montana Stockgrowers Association said he has no interest in disputing the reservations decision, but he can’t help but be concerned.

“Can we be 100 percent sure that they are brucellosis free, and my first instinct is to say not because errors can occur,” Darlington said.

He said he hopes the fencing used for the bison is sufficient to keep these powerful animals contained properly and that that any potential problems could be contained.

“As long as they manage them like livestock and take care of them, I don’t have as big a problem,” he said.

However, Darlington said, the risk of a brucellosis outbreak is a scary prospect for the cattle industry, which he said could be devastated by the disease it got out of hand.

Belcourt said his organization met with local cattlemen’s associations to consult with them about the prospect of brining bison to the reservation, and he said, he did hear some concerns raised, but for the most part the cattlemen were very supportive.

Belcourt also said he thinks the fear of brucellosis transmission from bison is overblown.

“There’s obviously some concern, but a lot of it is been hyped up or propaganda, it’s really political,” he said.

Belcourt said transmission of the disease between bison and domestic cattle has never been observed in the wild, and transmission from other animals like elk is far more likely.

Transmission between bison and cattle has been shown to be possible in lab settings.

National Park Service website says the lack of transmission might be partially due to efforts by federal and state agencies to maintain separation between the two species.

Belcourt said Friday’s meeting would be an attempt to hash out the details of the bison’s return as well as a homecoming celebration.

He said he wants to get the fence up as soon as possible to save grazing land for the winter when the bison will arrive.

“We got a whole host of issues we’ve got stay on top of,” he said.