Montana legislative update - GYC opposes Senate Joint Resolution 14: Resolution opposing bison introduction at Charles M. Russell Wildlife Refuge
SJ 14: WHAT IT IS AND WHERE IT STANDS.
GYC’s advocacy team is tracking Senate Joint Resolution 14 (SJ 14) as it moves through the Montana State Legislature. SJ 14 is a joint resolution of the Montana State Senate and House of Representatives which opposes the reintroduction of bison onto the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge (CMR Refuge) in northeastern Montana. Though a resolution such as SJ 14 is not bill (and therefore non-binding and unenforceable), it is a tool used to express the opinions of state legislators – in this case a handful of legislators who oppose bison restoration to the CMR Refuge. SJ 14 is replete with inaccuracies and false claims about the potential impacts of bison on the landscape, and is not reflective of the opinions of the majority of Montanans.
SJ 14 was introduced on February 21 and had its first hearing in the Senate Fish and Game Committee on February 28. It subsequently passed out of committee and is currently awaiting a full vote on the senate floor.
Bison in Yellowstone National Park. GYC is committed to bison restoration on appropriate public and Tribal lands across the country. (Photo NPS)
OUR POSITION:
GYC opposes SJ 14.
The Greater Yellowstone Coalition has long supported restoring bison to the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge. Along with the UL Bend National Wildlife Refuge, which it encompasses, the CMR Refuge is the second largest refuge in the contiguous United States and provides a significant opportunity for bison conservation and restoration. There are numerous ecological, cultural, and economic benefits to reintroducing bison to this landscape. Additionally, there is a strong interest among Montana’s Tribal Nations to work alongside the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and conservation groups to establish an intertribal-public buffalo herd within the UL Bend Refuge. SJ 14 stands in opposition to Montana’s conservation values and the rights and interests of Tribal Nations.
WHAT WE’RE DOING:
GYC’s advocacy team submitted written testimony to the Senate Fish and Game Committee hearing on February 28 and contacted each of the committee members expressing our opposition to the resolution. Broadly, our testimony included the following points:
The CMR Refuge is public land that would provide the ideal place to re-establish a wild intertribal-public buffalo herd and help reconnect Native people to the buffalo and restore their traditional way of life —contributing to both the ecological and cultural restoration of the species, and supporting Tribal food sovereignty, Native health initiatives, Tribal and non-Tribal economies, and treaty rights securing Tribal access to buffalo.
Such an effort would be consistent with Joint Secretarial Order 3403, which seeks to protect “the treaty, religious, subsistence, and cultural interests of federally recognized Indian Tribes” and finds that “Tribal consultation and collaboration must be implemented as components of, or in addition to, Federal land management priorities and direction for . . . conservation of wilderness, refuges, watersheds, wildlife habitat, and other values.”
The CMR Refuge is in the heart of what was once bison range across the Northern Great Plains. According to the CMR Refuge’s own management plan, restoring wild bison would be “a major step in restoring the biological integrity and natural ecosystem functions on the refuge and surrounding areas.”
Montanans overwhelmingly support bison restoration. State-wide polling from 2015 showed that 72 percent of Montanans support bison being managed as wildlife, 76 percent of Montanans support efforts to restore wild bison on public lands, and 78 percent of Montanans support efforts to restore bison to Tribal lands.
The UL Bend area is the optimal site for establishing a bison herd on the CMR Refuge. The quality of the grasslands at UL Bend, coupled with the absence of any cattle grazing on this portion of the refuge, would ensure a thriving bison herd and minimal livestock conflicts.
Natural topography, the Missouri River, and wildlife-friendly fencing along the boundaries of the bison conservation area would fully contain a bison herd, further reducing the potential for conflict.
A restoration herd on the CMR Refuge would be made up of certified disease-free, wild, healthy bison, making transmission of brucellosis to livestock impossible.
Large federal lands such as the CMR Refuge are critical to achieving cultural and ecological restoration goals for bison. The landscape of the CMR Refuge is a vital part of the greater restoration effort for this amazing species.
STATUS:
March 6 Update: SJ 14 passed the senate (34 to 16) and has been transferred to the house. We will continue to track SJ 14 as it advances and will keep you apprised of any opportunities to take action in support of bison.
—Shana Drimal, Senior Wildlife Conservation Associate
The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is the land of 49+ Indigenous Tribes who maintain current and ancestral connections to the lands, waters, wildlife, plants, and more.
