Weigh In On The Proposed Transfer Of The National Bison Range

Montana Public Radio | By Amy Martin

Published June 30, 2016 at 4:50 PM MDT

Draft Bill Would Transfer Bison Range To Tribal Control

The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes have scheduled a public meeting on the proposed transfer of the National Bison Range.

The National Bison Range was carved out of the Flathead Reservation by the federal government in 1908. Now, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes have proposed legislation to put that land back under tribal management.

Anna Muñoz of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says her agency supports the legislation.

"They have a really good tribal wildlife program, probably one of the best in the country."

But others are opposed to the transfer. A group of former employees and concerned citizens have joined a lawsuit by the group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility to stop the tribes for gaining management control.

The public is invited to weigh in on the debate at a meeting on July 12 at Salish Kootenai College. The meeting starts at 7:00 p.m. Written comments can also be submitted online at the Tribes’ Bison Range Working Group website. The deadline for those comments has been extended to July 15.