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Bison roam the National Bison Range near Moiese on Aug. 10. GREG LINDSTROM | FLATHEAD BEACON
Tribal Co-management of Bison
Range Again Considered
Partnership with federal agency open for public comment
By BEACON STAFF
The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes’ 20-year ef- fort to co-manage the reservation-based National Bison Range moved forward again this month as a long-awaited study was released for public comment.
On Aug. 4, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released a draft environmental assessment of the proposed tribal-federal partner- ship for operations of the Nation- al Bison Range Complex (NBRC). The partnership is authorized under the United States’ Tribal Self-Governance Act. The NBRC is part of the National Wildlife Refuge System, which is admin- istered by the FWS.
The draft environmental
assessment was released for a
30-day public comment period.
It analyzes the proposed agree-
ment between the FWS and the
Tribes, as well as several alterna-
tives. After reviewing public comment, the FWS will finalize the assessment, and if no further analysis is found to be neces- sary the agency will decide whether to approve the proposed agreement.
“The National Bison Range occupies a special place not only within the Flathead Indian Reservation, but also within the history and culture of the tribes,” Tribal Chairman Ron- ald Trahan said. “The Bison Range Complex also includes two
refuges that are located on tribally owned land. The Ninepipe and Pablo Refuges are operated by the Fish and Wildlife Ser- vice under an easement granted by the Tribes. Regardless of how you approach the issue, partnering with the Tribes makes sense.”
This would mark the third self-governance agreement at the NBRC. The first agreement was canceled by the FWS in 2006. The cancellation was then contested by the tribes, re- sulting in a second agreement that was signed by Interior
Secretary Dirk Kempthorne in 2008. That agreement was later rescinded by a federal court on procedural grounds, with the court finding that the FWS had not adequately explained its in- vocation of a categorical exclu- sion under the National Environ- mental Policy Act when it had ap- proved the 2008 agreement.
The recent draft environ- mental assessment aims to pro- vide a fuller analysis for the FWS decision regarding the new agreement it has negotiated with the tribes.
In response to allegations from groups who have long op- posed the bison range partner-
ship, the Interior Office of Inspector General investigated the claims and found them to be without merit.
“The National Bison Range Complex includes important parts of the Flathead Indian Reservation ecosystem,” said Tom McDonald, manager of CSKT’s Fish, Wildlife, Recreation Conservation Division. “We look forward to once again work- ing closely with the Fish and Wildlife Service under a Tribal Self-Governance agreement.”
Bison roam the National Bison Range near Moiese on Aug. 10.
GREG LINDSTROM | FLATHEAD BEACON