As announced by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks last month, the Department is currently looking for “interim holding spots” for the very bison that could make up a free-roaming herd in the state. A public comment period is currently open until October 19 on the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) analyzing the temporary use of four locations. To see that EIS or maps of where the bison would be put on the Marias River and Spotted Dog Wildlife Management Areas and the Fort Belknap and Fort Peck Indian Reservations, please read “MT’s ‘Free-Roaming’ Bison Herd Needs Pasture.”
In the meantime, the three public meetings on the EIS that have been scheduled thus far kick off this week. Following are the times and locations:
- Deer Lodge – Wednesday, October 5, 6:30 p.m. at the Community Center
- Shelby – Thursday, October 6, 6:30 p.m. at the Marias River Electric Cooperative
- Glasgow – Monday, October 17. 7:00 p.m. at the Civic Center
Simultaneous to this comment period, FWP has also released a preliminary report on the idea of Montana having a wild, free-roaming bison herd. For more, please see “Read Arnie Dood’s Free-Roaming Bison Report!” After publishing of this report, criticism began circulating about survey data that was omitted. For more on this topic, please read “What Survey Results Didn’t Make Bison Report?”
© Northern Ag Network 2011
Haylie Shipp
