Letter to the Editor - What will free-roaming bison do?

Editor,

What will free-roaming bison do?

This is a hotly debated question in Montana now. But we can look to Utah for an authoritative answer.

In 1941, 18 bison from Yellowstone National Park were released in the remote Henry Mountains in southeast Utah. The animals were set free in the arid desert known as Robbers Roost. But the bison were allowed to wander where they would.

Within a few years, the herd, now growing in size, wandered closer to the mountain terrain where the grass was more plentiful. Soon they crossed the Dirty Devil River into the north end of the mountain range. In 1963, the herd moved again, this time into the mountains themselves.

Today, the mountain range supports 300-400 animals and the population is stable. The herd does not migrate and has not split to form additional herds. More recently, Utah began permitting annual hunts.

Carole Mackin

Helena, formerly of Havre