Mt bison hunt help

[thecrittergitter]

I've never been a great spokesperson for the political battles of anything as I hate politics in general and even more so when it deals with our wildlife resources. However, with some knowledge base on this one, I'm throwing this out here in hopes of getting a little support from other people who want to see more opportunities for Montana Bison Hunts.

Right now, the majority of the bison in Montana are being harvested (I use that term very loosely as its more like a slaughter when they show up) by tribal members. Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do about the way the tribe manages their season on the Bison and the unethical practices they clearly have been exhibiting on numerous occasions. But, one thing that we can hopefully control, is how the seasons are governed by the state hunters. Currently, the tribes get to start hunting months prior to the state hunters and then get to continue on after the state seasons are done. Essentially, the state hunters are not getting even close to the same opportunities on these animals as tribal members are. If we were to at least open our seasons for the bison during September and October, it would have at least give the state hunters some opportunity. An example: Roughly 50 bison were killed this year alone by tribal members before any of the State seasons even opened. I can't help but use the term sloppy seconds here.........Essentially the tribe gets to come in, gun down every bison they see prior to anyone else even having a shot at them and we have to sit and hope they leave a few for us. Since we can't change what they are doing, maybe we need to push FWP in getting our opportunity extended to similar time frames.

Last season, State hunters were only able to take 27 bison. Barely 50% of the tags issued. However, tribal members recorded in at 220......and considering a number of these were taken when state hunters did not have a season available to them, it seems like a pretty clear discrimination of opportunity.

Now apparently the FWP is possibly proposing what they may believe to be a solution: They are considering increasing the number of tags in the current seasons and expanding the huntable area, oh and even possibly a damage hunt. No I'm not going to claim to be an expert here, but that might be one of the dumbest ideas that even FWP has come up with. First off, expanding the area?? You can expand it all you want, the buffalo are all in the same areas year after year. You can't expand the zone which will have zero buffalo and think you are giving someone more opportunity. Giving more tags during the same time frame??What the.....the amount of tags during those time frames were already not punched largely due to the fact that so many were taken prior to the season for state hunters to start.

It seems like having a start date of Sept 1 just like the tribe would at least give people to harvest the bison that come out during sept and October. Right now, 100% of these bison are getting shot and taken by the tribe.

A friend of mine has proposed some of his ideas to FWP regarding more opportunity for the state hunters one being the earlier season dates. Their response was that they didn't want an earlier season date due to the fact that the gut piles could cause more grizzly bear interactions in the area. Now keep in mind, this is in an area they have open to elk and deer hunting all of September and October..........SO apparently, FWP must think that elk gut piles are of less danger than bison gut piles. And considering the tribe is already shooting bison there, that apparent risk is already in place.....

Anyway, after being on a couple of bison hunts the past few years and likely to help a friend with another this winter, I've really gotten to see more of the picture than I realized was there. And these are awesome animals and is really neat to be on these hunts. I would hope that more people get these opportunities in the future and I think we all need to push a little to get these opportunities.

If any of you want to voice your opinion to FWP in trying to get more bison opportunities for the state hunters please send in your comments or call.

I think Dan Vermillion may be the best guy to call for your comments..406-222-0624

Hopefully we can get more opportunities in the future......

 

[Big Fin]

Good info, Critter. Is your friend submitting a formal proposal that we could all get behind and tell the FWP Commission to support?

 

[Ben Lamb]

Matt,

As another who wants more bison opportunity, thanks for posting this.

I do see some issues that would need to be dealt with regarding opening the season earlier. First & foremost are the tribal treaty rights. Those tribes have a right to hunt those bison and they exercise it. I agree that it can be a free-for-all, but would note a number of tribes have reigned in the excessive behavior. Overall, I think an open dialog with those tribes hunting bison and the state sanctioned hunters would be a good thing. It certainly couldn't hurt when it comes time to finding more common ground on the issue.

Second, expanding the area isn't a bad idea. What typically happens now, as you well know is that bison run back to the safe zones when the bullets fly. Expanding secure habitat for those buffs could mean the difference between pushing them deeper in to roadless/limited motorized areas outside of the park where the hunting is difficult due to access. It gives those animals time to filter out on a broader landscape.

Third, if you want more opportunity, we need more bison. Allowing year round tolerance outside of the park is a good way to get that. Especially for bulls. In order for that to happen, we need to encourage the state to follow through with their current EA seeking to expand tolerance for bison.

Lastly - in order to truly achieve a better opportunity for hunting wild bison, we need to ensure that two things happen at the legislature: We continue to kill the bills that would seek to eliminate wild bison from MT, and we honor the commitments the conservation community made to protect private property rights under SB 212. That means we need to be working with, or at least trying to work with, groups like the MT Stockgrowers, etc, to get them beyond NO.

It's difficult, but the reality is that we've come a long way since 2005.

 

[thecrittergitter]

Good info, Critter. Is your friend submitting a formal proposal that we could all get behind and tell the FWP Commission to support?

Randy,

Good question, I will check with him to see. I know he has been submitting in emails but not sure any other extent beyond.

 

[thecrittergitter]

Ben, I totally agree with gaining more land for them and opening more areas if there are actually bison there. All I was really saying was that right now, there few bison that are around, are in the same bison zones, year in year out. It made me think that them saying to open more areas for hunting them is like offering antelope tags in all the 100 districts. You didn't provide any more opportunity just by giving us more ground in the unit to hunt if there are no animals there to hunt

 

[Ben Lamb]

Ben, I totally agree with gaining more land for them and opening more areas if there are actually bison there. All I was really saying was that right now, there few bison that are around, are in the same bison zones, year in year out. It made me think that them saying to open more areas for hunting them is like offering antelope tags in all the 100 districts. You didn't provide any more opportunity just by giving us more ground in the unit to hunt if there are no animals there to hunt

True, but you have to start somewhere. The stark reality is that FWP isn't the only entity managing wild bison in MT. Under the Interagency Bison Management Plan, FWP, DOL, APHIS, USFS & NPS all have some authority due to the brucellosis issue and where the animals migrate out of.

I think that right now, the likelihood of working with tribes is high, especially after the 2013 legislative session where we all banded together and worked to kill the bills. We should capitolize on that and start the dialog about how to increase both tribal opportunity and state sanctioned opportunity.

Expanding habitat and allowing those critters to fill that habitat have to happen together.

 

[thecrittergitter]

I'm definitely glad a bunch of those bills got killed. From my recollection, seems the biggest battle is with DOL.

Hopefully we can work with the tribes together to make this a success for everyone. The little display this spring of slaughtering over 100 head in less than 10 acres is one of the most absurd sights I've seen in my life. Some bison, shot and falling dead 10' inside the park that were not retrievable. Gut pile after gut pile, of which FWP I believe had to go remove due to potential griz threats. It reminded me of the old photos of people driving in trains and shooting them by the hundreds out the window and leaving them......

Even with their right to hunt, they need to exercise common sense with it....so hope those habits change.

 

[Ben Lamb]

The DOL is only in this because of state statute & the IBMP. We might not like the fact that they participate in the management, but if we want them out, we need to change the law and change the IBMP. Both are politically difficult tasks in the current environment.

Bold leadership on the tribal aspect is needed. Hunting groups should extend the olive branch and start the conversation with tribal leaders in the Intertribal Buffalo Council.

 

[Rimrock]

Chiming in a bit late here, and thankfully the political points have been pretty well covered.
Right now my mind is more on dinner, and bison meat is as good as it gets! And then... come bedtime... buffalo robes are hands down the best bedspread going! At least this time of year...