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As Bison Return to Prairie, Some Rejoice, Others Worry

"Within this sea of agriculture there is room for small islands of conservation," said Sean Gerrity, president of the American Prairie Reserve http://www.americanprairie.org/ , the charity that brought a group of genetically pure bison back to a pasture just north of the refuge.

Sioux and Assiniboine tribe members wailed a welcome song last month as around 60 bison from Yellowstone National Park stormed onto a prairie pasture that had not felt a bison’s hoof for almost 140 years.

That historic homecoming came just 11 days after 71 pureblood bison, descended from one of Montana’s last wild herds, were released nearby onto untilled grassland owned by a charity with a vision of building a haven for prairie wildlife. Some hunters and conservationists are now calling for bison to be reintroduced to a million-acre wildlife refuge spanning this remote region.

"Populations of all native Montana wildlife have been allowed to rebound except bison; it’s time to take care of them like they once took care of us," said Robert Magnan, 58, director of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation’s Fish and Game Department, who will oversee the transplanted Yellowstone bison program.

By NATE SCHWEBER

Full Story: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/27/us/bison-return-to-montana-prairie.html?_r=1&hpw

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