Public comment sought for Bison Range management partnership
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News combined from the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service press releases
MOIESE — The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes’ 20-year effort to assist with management of the reservation-based National Bison Range took a step forward Monday as a long-awaited study was released for public comment.
On Aug. 4, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released for review its draft environmental assessment of the proposed tribal-federal partnership agreement for operations of the National Bison Range Complex.
The Annual Funding Agreement would allow the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes to manage and implement the biological, maintenance, public use, and fire management programs on the National Bison Range Complex within the boundaries of the Flathead Indian Reservation; specifically the National Bison Range, Ninepipe and Pablo National Wildlife Refuges, and nine waterfowl production areas. All of these units are within Lake and Sanders counties.
The partnership is authorized under the United States’ Tribal Self-Governance Act. The Complex is part of the National Wildlife Refuge System, which is administered by the Fish and Wildlife Service.
The draft environmental assessment is being released for a 30-day public comment period. It analyzes the proposed agreement between the Service and the Tribes, as well as several alternatives. After reviewing public comment, the Service will finalize the assessment. If no further analysis is found to be necessary, the Service will then make a decision on whether to approve the proposed agreement.
“The National Bison Range occupies a special place not only within the Flathead Indian Reservation, but also within the history and culture of the Tribes,” said Tribal Chairman Ronald Trahan. “The Bison Range Complex also includes two Refuges that are located on Tribally-owned land. The Ninepipe and Pablo Refuges are operated by the Fish and Wildlife Service under an easement granted by the Tribes. Regardless of how you approach the issue, partnering with the Tribes makes sense.”
This would be the third Self-Governance agreement at the Complex. The first one was cancelled by the Service in 2006. That cancellation was contested by the Tribes, resulting in a second agreement that was signed by Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne in 2008. That agreement was later rescinded by a federal court on procedural grounds, with the court finding that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had not adequately explained its invocation of a categorical exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act when it had approved the 2008 agreement. The draft environmental assessment being released today seeks to provide a fuller analysis for the Service’s decision regarding the new agreement it has negotiated with the Tribes.
In response to allegations from groups who have long opposed the bison range partnership, the Interior Office of Inspector General investigated the claims and the OIG found the claims to be without merit.
Support for the tribal-federal partnership has come from many sources including the National Wildlife Federation, other conservation groups, elected officials, and a September 3, 2003 New York Times editorial that states a new Bison Range partnership will add to the public’s enjoyment of the crown jewel refuge.
“The National Bison Range Complex includes important parts of the Flathead Indian Reservation ecosystem,” said Tom McDonald, Manager of CSKT’s Fish, Wildlife, Recreation Conservation Division. “We look forward to once again working closely with the Fish and Wildlife Service under a Tribal Self-Governance agreement.”
Comments on the draft EA from members of the public will be welcomed by the Service during a 30-day public review period.
“We always think that it’s important to involve stakeholders in the process of deciding how to best manage our shared natural resources, in this case the locally- and nationally-known National Bison Range,” said Will Meeks, Mountain-Prairie Region assistant regional director for Refuges. “Both citizens and Tribal members with an opinion on how the National Bison Range will be managed are invited to comment on the draft environmental assessment during the thirty-day comment period.”
The document can be downloaded from the refuge complex’s website: www.fws.gov/bisonrange. Comments should be specific and reference the relevant document section where possible. Comments may be submitted by email to bisonrange@fws.gov or mailed to National Bison Range, 58355 Bison Range Rd., Moiese, MT 59824. All comments must be emailed or postmarked by September 3, 2014.
For more information, contact Jeff King at the Bison Range Complex (406) 644-2211, ext. 204 or email jeff_king@fws.gov.
