katqanna
Well-known member
"If there be no place for wild bison in all of Montana, then surely we have crossed a line between the Last Best Place and the the Once Best Place." - Jim Bailey
Last edited:
Montana...Once Best Place?
- Thread starter katqanna
- Start date
"If there be no place for wild bison in all of Montana, then surely we have crossed a line between the Last Best Place and the the Once Best Place." - Jim Bailey
Dinkshooter
Well-known member
Amen, although I've been called a lot of names on another web site for dreaming of bison in the Mt breaks. Even though some slum lord in Mt kept my deposit after I chickened out in movining there in 1993. Just a stupid outsider I guess.
jryoung
Well-known member
fify
Carrion Carrier
Member
It would be so awesome to hunt wild bison in wild areas.
katqanna
Well-known member
While I may never personally get the opportunity, this is part of what I am actively working towards with bison restoration in Montana. I have photographically enjoyed the few encounters I have had with wild bison and absolutely loved the encounter at Turners Green Ranch when I was with a small group surveying the tiny brucellosis (no case of brucellosis from bison to cattle transmission has been documented anyway) free herd that Turner is hosting while Montana gets it sh*t together and begins the bison plan to restore bison to the landscape.
I would love to see and hear about Montanans wild bison hunts and wild bison meat in the freezer (I make some awesome bison jerky) would be a pleasure.
jryoung
Well-known member
Do you have a reference for this? I have a couple of people I'd like to share it with if you do.
katqanna
Well-known member
How do you prove a negative? There is no documented case of bison to cattle brucellosis transmission - ever.
Brucellosis was brought to the US by European livestock. I have traced the paleopathology history of brucellosis and there is no archaeological case of it until domesticated livestock from Europe show up on the scene. Since genetics has advanced, the testing has proved that it was not the bison that have spread brucellosis back to the cattle here in Montana and surrounding states, but the elk genotype.
Which is why conservation hunters need to get their collective asses in gear and protect our elk, because the same USDA, APHIS, USAHA and DOL agriculture/livestock agencies that got control of bison through brucellosis, already have their machinery in place and are trying to get the same control of our elk - hence Rep. Alan Redfields HB 312 elk brucellosis test and slaughter bill this winter. Their objective is eradication of Brucella abortus from all reservoirs, which is repeatedly stated on their websites mission statements and in their conference papers. Take a look at who is funding the brucellosis study that FWP has been conducting in the DSA of Region 3.
And if y'all are not aware of what is going on with the Montana Elk Brucellosis Working Group with FWP in Region 3, where the Designated Surveillance Area is, you need to get caught up, because the alliances with the ranchers in that area have already been made. Stack fencing, at $2000 a pop of FWP sportsmen dollars, has been paid to ranchers that did not allow public hunter access during the general season. Dispersal hunts have been conducted after Feb. 15th on private ranches in elk hunting districts that are below objective. Private meetings between these ranchers, in their homes, which include Rep. Redfield and county commissioners who also own ranches in this area, have been conducted, intentionally excluding the public, against Montana open meeting statutes and when objections to upper level FWP management was made, the complaints have been ignored and public process stonewalled. Below is an email from one of those FWP personnel on May 2nd, 2013.
Of course Redfield is complimentary to this process, he wants the elk slaughtered, as many of these ranchers have stated in meetings I have gone to. "Kill all the elk", they openly said. "They are eating our grass". And there my fellow hunters is the key. Very few cattle have actually been infected with brucellosis, especially compared to other diseases that have a far greater affect and mortality on cattle, but this is the club they hypocritically wield to gain more control over public grazing and to keep our public trust wildlife from eating "their grass".
Bulldog0156
Well-known member
I don't know a ton about the issues between ranchers and bison other than they fear the spread of Brucellosis, but my thought is that the bison were here first, and they have a right to roam the land.
jryoung
Well-known member
How many ranchers bitch about the introduction of a "non-native" invasive species.....talk about pot meet kettle.
katqanna
Well-known member
For nearly a year now, I have been watching the activity at a number of Montana livestock associations websites and facebooks. There was a serious mobilization of political machinery that began to occur, which is why there were 10 anti-bison bills in this last legislature that we had to fight against and why a number of those were not just specific to bison, but involved brucellosis, which would have applied to elk as well. The guest speakers and resulting conversations at a number of these livestock association meetings shows a course of action. The issues cover grazing on public lands, brucellosis misinformation, private land issues as a front, contesting the Montana C. R. Rathbone case, especially in light of its use in the recent Park County case allowing extended range into Montana for bison - yet DOL's Christian McKay and one of his riders hazed a lone bull bison, which cannot transmit brucellosis, off of the bison friendly Dome Mountain Ranch, onto the Dome Mountain WMA where it was shot and left to rot. No cattle were anywhere around. This is a multi-pronged agenda.
And before anyone cries foul, let me explain that I have history with the ag/livestock industry. I worked at a dairy/ranch as an older teenager, milking 120 cows twice a day, helped with the calf rearing, horse raising and training. I later married into a Texas farming and ranching family and am well acquainted with the ins and outs of game ranching, public land grazing, subsidies and the objectives of the Texans moving here. Preferring the organic and sustainable aspect to agriculture and livestock, I have raised small amounts of livestock on my own land. I know ranchers and farmers, here in Montana that are wildlife friendly and not a part of this campaign against our wildlife. But, the Stockgrowers association and other such agencies are very prominently on the front lines to gain control of our wildlife.
And if the fear of brucellosis was such a threat - ask the public land ranchers if they are willing to turn their cattle out onto public lands at a later date, to avoid any contact with the bison or elk, during the potential threat period of the birthing materials from females (males cant spread brucellosis, neither can juveniles and older females that are no longer birthing), and they will tell you, no. They would rather risk exposure to brucellosis, which is minimal, than lose money feeding their livestock for a longer period of time and risk more damage to their private land by over grazing. This is why they do the bison hazing in the spring. The ranchers do not want a later turn out date for their cattle. It is all about the grass!
It's still the last best place, bison restoration or not. Free ranging herds all over the state aren't going to happen. Brucellosis isn't the only issue farmers and ranchers are concerned about. Our already stressed at the seams FWP shouldn't have a problem with another management challenge. Great idea. mtmuley
Similar threads
