USFWS Considers Reintroducing Bison to Montana Refuge

The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is considering reintroducing bison to the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge in central Montana, starting with a summer consultation with tribes and other stakeholders.

Some ranchers in Montana are opposed to the reintroduction of more bison, expressing fears that the wild animals would transmit brucellosis to their livestock. Except in and near Yellowstone National Park, Brucellosis, a bacterial disease that can induce spontaneous abortion in contaminated animals, is largely eradicated in the United States. To save illness from spreading, the wild bison herd is culled daily. There has never been a recorded case of wild bison to cattle transmission.

The USFWS hasn't said anything about the possibility of reintroductions other than to say that the mechanism to discuss it will take some years. The department will begin working with tribes and other stakeholders on a draft agreement to reintroduce the animals this summer.

The organization did mention reintroducing bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis), which currently live in the refuge; however, it is uncertain if such attempts will increase the species' distribution within the refuge or extend the existing population.

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