Montana and the Bison Hunt

A. Thirty-four permits were issued to Montana hunters by random drawing and 16 were issued to the eight Montana Indian Tribes. Forty bison were harvested over the 90-day season. There was intense local, regional, national, and international media attention, but little controversy.

A. Yes. Five other states hunt bison with no controversy. Each year, wild bison are hunted (and harvested) in Alaska (100), Arizona (45-65), South Dakota (35), Utah (60), and Wyoming (42).

A. Hunting bison in Montana is nothing new. Bison have been hunted in Montana for more than 10,000 years. In more recent times, hunting and hunters have played an important role in the restoration and conservation of wildlife in North America.

Yet, as many are aware, managing bison is a complex matter. There are no simple solutions to population, disease, and securing sufficient wildlife habitat for animals as big and demanding as bison. Ultimately, the solution to managing bison and the challenges they present will include a combination of tools, including hunting. FWP needs to consider bison as its does all the other wildlife species it is charged to conserve and manage. An annual, regulated, and well-planned hunt serves as a one way for Montana to establish and maintain a free-ranging wild bison population, while simultaneously helping to protect the Montana livestock industry from brucellosis.

A. Montana seeks to manage bison as wildlife, not a zoo population. Hunting is a part of that process. In 2003, the Montana Legislature responded to requests for additional tools to manage bison numbers and distribution. The legislation calls for FWP to design a fair-chase hunt of wild bison in southwestern Montana.

A. The hunts that began in 1985 drew considerable negative attention to Montana and were criticized for, among other reasons, not being true hunts. In 1991, the Montana Legislature discontinued the hunt.

A. Much has been learned since Montana last had a public bison hunt 15 years ago, especially regarding the management of bison and the challenges bison present. Most important, there is now a place for bison in Montana. In the past, bison were not tolerated outside of Yellowstone National Park under any circumstances. Now a limited number of bison can roam on more than 460,000 acres, or nearly 720 square miles of wildlife habitat, available for bison near West Yellowstone and Gardiner.

A. Perhaps not this year or next, but wildlife managers are hopeful that as the years progress bison will gradually learn that they can inhabit and graze on the additional areas available to them as they migrate from Yellowstone National Park in search for food in winter.

A. Hunters will likely find bison on about 60,000 acres, or nearly 94 square miles of wildlife habitat available to them. The total area is larger than any of Montana’s long-establish wildlife management areas set aside for big game animals.

A. All hunters will be required to attend an orientation session to prepare them for the hunt. Information on bison natural history, the hunter’s role in wildlife management, legal hunting areas, distinguishing between bulls, cows, and calves, proper shot placement, handling/field dressing bison, and potential encounters with some who oppose this hunt will be included. Hunters will also be informed of Montana’s hunter harassment laws and how to report violations. Hunters will decide on their own where and when to hunt within each portion of the 90-day season, and they’ll hunt under fair-chase conditions either on foot or on horseback.

A. FWP is responsible for the hunt. FWP shares some additional management responsibilities with DOL. DOL is involved because bison carry the disease brucellosis, a threat to Montana’s livestock industry. FWP is involved because bison are a wildlife species that inhabits the state.

A. Yes. More than 30,000 bison were commercially raised and processed under USDA inspection in 2004, more than double the number of animals processed under federal inspection in 2000. In addition, more than 4,000 ranchers now raise bison in the U.S. Bison are raised in every state of the U.S., including herds in Hawaii and on Long Island, in New York.