Hunter groups take stand on bison hunt

By WALT WILLIAMS, Chronicle Staff Writer

HELENA -- Hunters won't back a bill resurrecting hunting of Yellowstone National Park's bison herd unless the state recognizes the animals as free-ranging wildlife, say two sportsmen organizations.

The Montana Wildlife Federation and the Gallatin Wildlife Association said Friday they're opposed to Senate Bill 395, which would bring back sport hunting of wild bison that wander outside the park's boundaries.

"We don't want it to be a simple slaughter -- hunters doing all the dirty work," MWF Executive Director Craig Sharpe said. "If they are going to do it, do it right."

The practice was banned by the state Legislature in 1991 after several highly publicized hunts generated public criticism of the sport.

Both organizations remained neutral on the bill until this week.

The problem is it leaves control of hazing the animals back into Yellowstone with the Montana Department of Livestock, they said.

That authority should rest with Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, and bison should be managed to maintain free-range habitat for the animals, they said.

"Our position is if the DOL wants to keep it, they keep it," said Glenn Hockett, president of the Gallatin Wildlife Association. "Don't drag hunters into the quagmire."

Neither group is opposed to bison hunting as a matter of principal. But they feel SB 395 to doesn't go far enough to stem the controversy that accompanied previous hunts.

The Gallatin Wildlife Association is asking bill sponsor Sen. Gary Perry, R-Manhattan, to make several amendments before it will sign off its support.

Central among them is to recognize that "wild buffalo or bison are valued, native, free-ranging wildlife in Montana."

Also, bison hunts must be totally run by FWP. The bill's current language makes hunting only one more tool the DOL can use in controlling brucellosis.

Brucellosis is a disease that causes cattle to abort their offspring. Montana has been brucellosis-free since 1985, with the only occurrence of the disease in Yellowstone bison.

For that reason, the agriculture lobby will almost certainly oppose the amendments.

Perry said such changes probably would kill SB 395.

"If we don't compromise, we won't have any progress, " Perry said. "And we'll be stuck where we've been stuck for the last 10 years."

He sees the bill as creating a partnership between the two agencies to manage the bison population and the brucellosis problem.

Both organizations say they'll continue to oppose the bill unless all the amendments are added.

SB 395 already has cleared the Senate. The House Fish, Wildlife and Game Commission is scheduled to hold a hearing on it March 25.

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