Page 34 - Flathead Living // Spring 2015

LAST YEAR’S BISON ROUNDUP – when bison are herded into corrals, inspected for health issues, and genetically sampled – used the park’s newest hydraulic calf shoot, which Lisk says works better
than the mechanical calf shoot they’ve used in the past, resulting in
no injuries. The park is able to process animals at a faster rate than before. A total of 82 calves and 360 total animals were rounded up. “It was like night and day,” Lisk said. “It has allowed us to streamline the process, ramp up the science and decrease the handling time.”
“The ultimate goal is to treat them like wildlife, but it’s within a 19,000-acre fenced-in refuge, so it has a carrying capac- ity,” Lisk said. “We have to manage the population size.”
For the first time in 60 years, bison are grazing refuge-wide, allowing greater access throughout the park in off-season months.
The range is also home to pronghorn antelope, elk, bighorn sheep, grizzlies, and birds, and numerous wildlife management programs are underway to monitor the bison as well as the other wildlife popu- lations. FL
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FLATHEAD LIVING | SPRING 2015