More Yellowstone Park Bison Drama

[BigHornRam]

Gardiner landowner sues feds to stop bison hunt north of Yellowstone

A Gardiner-area landowner is suing the National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service to halt the hunting of bison just outside Yellowstone National Park’s northern border, saying the agencies have

billingsgazette.com

 

[Big Fin]

Knowing this situation, it comes as no surprise. Bonnie was a long-time CPA client who has vacation rentals near Gardiner and just so happens to be where the bison like to travel and hang out when they leave the Park. In spite of the neighbors posting their property and making numerous requests to stop people from shooting in their neighborhood, nothing ever gets done to change the situation.

It is mostly an issue with the tribal bison hunters. The tribal hunters shoot bison in her yard, in her driveway, and bullets are flying every morning that bison move to her property and the private property of her neighbors. Her neighbors experience the same thing, though Bonnie is known to be a "squeaky wheel" and it comes as no surprise that she would be the vocal person on this topic.

Some of the property owners have bullet holes in their buildings, though I've not heard of such happening to Bonnie's buildings. Not sure what option a private property owner has if law enforcement will not do anything about the situation. I understand the "kid glove" treatment that seems to come with enforcing laws when it involves tribal hunters. Yet, it is a true safety issue.

If you can imagine a business built on vacation rentals and having your clients waken to the sounds of close gun fire. Then, go outside and see a pile of bison carcass in your yard/driveway. And when the bison are removed, you still have a large number of bison gut piles or carcasses left for you to deal with.

Bonnie was a hunter in her younger days. She has never had an issue with hunting that I'm aware of. From past conversations, this is not about stopping a hunt, rather a safety issue and an issue about her property/business being impacted by the manner in which the tribal hunting is managed. She told me a while back that she felt a lawsuit was the only remaining option for her and her neighbors.


A couple other articles that shows this has been a problem for a long time -

E&E News: 'The Killing Fields': Bison come to roam. Then they die

<p>GARDINER, Mont. —- In the summertime, Sue Oliver can peer out her dining room window to see the majesty of snow-covered Electric Peak just across the bumpy gravel road in front of her retirement home along the Yellowstone River.</p>

www.eenews.net

Montana Residents Say Bison Hunts Near Yellowstone Unsafe

BEATTIE GULCH, Mont. (AP) — The scavenger-cleaned bison carcass scattered across the grassland provided the perfect punctuation point for Nathan…

www.mtpr.org

 

[SD_Prairie_Goat]

Gardiner landowner sues feds to stop bison hunt north of Yellowstone

A Gardiner-area landowner is suing the National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service to halt the hunting of bison just outside Yellowstone National Park’s northern border, saying the agencies have

billingsgazette.com

Very interesting. I hope the judge doesn't put a temp hold on the hunts while they are trying to decide what to do, since that can be years for things to make it through the court system.


Based on what Big Fin said, if it is tribal hunters causing the issue I'm not sure what the state could do about it, or even the federal gov't... Not sure if the Bonnie built on tribal land or not either, I say this because I know in SD you can buy tribal land, but the tribe always retains the rights to hunt and fish on that land no matter what.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

Obviously the politics are complicated... but it just seems insane that a local sheriff couldn't intervene purely from the safety aspect of the situation. Sure treaty rights... but arrests wouldn't be made for hunting out of season, without out a license etc.

 

[Nameless Range]

Obviously the politics are complicated... but it just seems insane that a local sheriff couldn't intervene purely from the safety aspect of the situation. Sure treaty rights... but arrests wouldn't be made for hunting out of season, without out a license etc.

This. If someone was shooting a gun in the direction of my house, it would absolutely be a safety issue, and not chiefly for the occupants of the house.

Very interesting to read the article in the OP, and then to read Fin's comment.

 

[Ben Lamb]

There have been attempts to curtail the poor behavoir (it's not just tribal hunters behaving poorly) but inevitably, someone breaks the truce.

Expanded room to roam outside the park, along with buffers on where you can and can't hunt would help, but the tribes have to sign on to that. The Beattie Gulch issue is a disaster.

 

[BigHornRam]

Any consideration of letting the tribes hunt the migrating bison in the Park, away from this pinch point and private property?

 

[Big Fin]

... Not sure if the Bonnie built on tribal land or not either, I say this because I know in SD you can buy tribal land, but the tribe always retains the rights to hunt and fish on that land no matter what.

It was all tribal land prior to 1850. Bonnie and her neighbors acquired these non-tribal lands from prior non-tribal members. They would be considered deeded lands.

 

[Ben Lamb]

Any consideration of letting the tribes hunt the migrating bison in the Park, away from this pinch point and private property?

it's a nonstarter for NPS and many bison advocates.

 

[BigHornRam]

Any follow up on this investigation of illegal behavior? Work of non compromising bison advocates?

Y’Stone investigates bison release

Yellowstone National Park law enforcement is investigating the release of dozens of bison that were penned in anticipation of being turned over to the Fort Peck tribes.

www.jhnewsandguide.com

 

[Ben Lamb]

They got them.

Did they ever find you?

Bison-Taunting Man at Yellowstone Is Arrested, Park Officials Say (Published 2018)

The suspect had four run-ins with officers at three national parks in a week, the authorities said. Now, he’s in jail.

www.nytimes.com

 

[Jape]

it's a nonstarter for NPS and many bison advocates.

Yeah, I get the desire for that as it would make it more workable, but it just will never happen.

 

[BigHornRam]

They got them.

Did they ever find you?

Bison-Taunting Man at Yellowstone Is Arrested, Park Officials Say (Published 2018)

The suspect had four run-ins with officers at three national parks in a week, the authorities said. Now, he’s in jail.

www.nytimes.com

According to this article the culprits were never caught.

Good read though.

'Fruits of our labor:' Yellowstone bison moved to Fort Peck

“Hopefully, we’re opening the door to doing quarantine into the future.”

www.bozemandailychronicle.com

 

[MTGomer]

Lee Enterprises should pay @Big Fin to do journalism work.
The article they wrote is pretty much useless after reading what Randy wrote.

 

[Sytes]

What an interesting situation... It seems almost unbelievable that tribal groups are able to walk onto private property, kill a bison, gut the bison on private property, and this is 1.) Legal and 2.) Sanctioned action by said tribe?
Not to touch on bullets impacting on private property walls, etc? Would it be an act of war to fire back out of fear of severe injury or death? A bit of wit-less humor though... wow!

 

[Straight Arrow]

Lee Enterprises should pay @Big Fin to do journalism work.
The article they wrote is pretty much useless after reading what Randy wrote.

I agree. What he explained about Bonnie Lynn is important. Having known Bonnie for many years, it seems sadly ironic to me that she has to suffer the impacts of this hunting debacle. She has been a staunch supporter of wildlife and wild places, with a passion for conservation and preservation. Bonnie has been a hunter herself and has supported efforts of RMEF and others on behalf of elk and all wildlife. It's a shame that it takes litigation to motivate the responsible parties to do what's right and ethical.

 

[BigHornRam]

What an interesting situation... It seems almost unbelievable that tribal groups are able to walk onto private property, kill a bison, gut the bison on private property, and this is 1.) Legal and 2.) Sanctioned action by said tribe?
Not to touch on bullets impacting on private property walls, etc? Would it be an act of war to fire back out of fear of severe injury or death? A bit of wit-less humor though... wow!

Bison are shot on public land but some end up dieing on the adjacent private property. It's a 100 acre public parcel so safe shooting of high powered rifles is poor at best. Artificial parkline boundary creates "killing fields" like this. It's a mess.

 

[Ben Lamb]

I agree. What he explained about Bonnie Lynn is important. Having known Bonnie for many years, it seems sadly ironic to me that she has to suffer the impacts of this hunting debacle. She has been a staunch supporter of wildlife and wild places, with a passion for conservation and preservation. Bonnie has been a hunter herself and has supported efforts of RMEF and others on behalf of elk and all wildlife. It's a shame that it takes litigation to motivate the responsible parties to do what's right and ethical.

It's a lot more complicated than just "getting people to do what's right" when it comes to bison conservation. The continued use of the IBMP, quarantine for brucellosis reasons, litigation around expansion of bison tolerance zones, poor behavior by hunters, etc all contribute to this mess. We've seen incremental progress since the bucket of blood & guts incident, but we're a heckuva long way away from solving the issue of where bison can and can't be, and who is going to be responsible for them. As one former policy advisor to a Montana governor once said, the IBMP (main policy managing bison in and around YNP) is a 50 year solution and we're in year 20.

And given the chance, the legislature will only make this worse.

 

[Sytes]

Bison are shot on public land but some end up dieing on the adjacent private property. It's a 100 acre public parcel so safe shooting of high powered rifles is poor at best. Artificial parkline boundary creates "killing fields" like this. It's a mess.

I had my, "kill a bison" and "walk onto private property" reversed... Apologies.
Amazed this is legal. I thought if an animal dies on private property, one must get in touch with the landowner and if unable or the landlord denies you must contact the warden/tribal warden in this case(?) to resolve the issue... though the way the articles read... Amazing this is permissible on private property. Amazing firearms are permissible on such a small stretch of land encompassed by residents.

Ben, I understand one does not want to focus specifically on the tribal hunt - however, looking at the stats for licensed hunts and the kill ratio... It IS the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes causing this issue and willful disregard for the safety of others...

Last year, state-licensed hunters shot eight bison in the Beattie Gulch area. Since 2013, they've killed an average of 29 per year, compared with an average of 260 for the tribes.

Tribal officials say they have every right to regulate their hunting seasons under federal treaties they signed with the United States.

 

[rmauch20]

Oh well what can you do... treaty rights! Sounds like her options are get used to it or get used to it.
At best the lawsuit would only affect those non-tribal members.