Bison Plan Published Online
An agreement between Montana’s wildlife agency and a northeastern Montana Indian reservation that allowed for the recent translocation and long-term care of more than 60 disease-free bison is now available online. The state’s Fish Wildlife and Parks Deaprtment says a total of 63 bison arrived last week from the quarantine facility near Gardiner. The bison are part of a study that began in 2004 aimed at creating a group of bison free of the bacteria that causes brucellosis, a disease that results in miscarriages in some pregnant animals, including domestic cattle, and bison and elk. The Memorandum of Understanding between Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks and the Assiniboine & Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Reservation, which was signed March 16, includes commitments to properly contain bison, immediately respond to any escapes of bison, keep liability insurance to cover any damage claims, provide Montana with disease-free bison for potential future conservation efforts, and continue disease testing for five years.
