Page 33 - Flathead Living // Spring 2015

NatioNal BisoN RaNge timeliNe
1908 President Theodore Roosevelt signs legislation creating the National Bison Range.
1909 First bison arrive at refuge. The National Bison Society purchased them from the Conrad herd in Kalispell and donated them to the Bison Range.
1910 Eleven calves born in the range’s first spring.
1921 Executive Order 3569 designates the Bison Range as a refuge
and breeding ground for birds.
1933 Big Medicine born. A rare white bison, he had a brown shock of hair on top and blue eyes. White buffalo are sacred to many Native American tribes.
1934 Civilian Conservation Corps works its first of just two summers at the Bison Range. The CCC built Red Sleep Mountain Drive and the range’s front gate, and installed the day use area.
1959 Big Medicine dies at age 26. Today he is on display at the Montana Historical Society’s Montana Museum in Helena.
1966 Self-guided car trips are allowed on Red Sleep Mountain Drive. An episode of the “Lassie” television show is filmed.
1982 A new visitor center is built with displays open to the public.
1993 Record number of visitors in a year set at 217,200.
2005 Ervin Davis, a Bison Range volunteer, receives the National Wildlife Refuge Volunteer of the Year award.
2008 The Bison Range celebrates its centennial.
A BEAUTIFUL VIEW DESERVES THE BEST IN QUALITY
mtsashanddoor.com 238 Frontage Park
Kalispell, MT
406.752.4527
18 Peregrine Way Bozeman, MT
406.586.1858
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SPRING 2015 | FLATHEAD LIVING 31