Area Officials Express Opposition To Bison Bill

State Sen. Mike Fox, D-Hayes, and Fort Peck tribal chairman Floyd Azure were among the opponents speaking against a bill that wants to require county commissioners’ approval before wild buffalo or wild bison are released into a county.

Bill sponsor Rep. Joshua Kassmier, R-Fort Benton, explained during the Montana House agriculture committee hearing last week that House Bill 302 is simply a local control bill.

“The ones dealing with the problems should be local officials,” Kassmier said.

He stressed that the bill doesn’t include or seek any jurisdiction over tribal lands.

Proponent Nicole Rolf of the Montana Farm Bureau Federation also noted that the proposal doesn’t include the transfer of bison to tribal entities.

“This is about local control,” Rolf said. “Our members believe county commissioners are closer with their constituents.”

She added, “It just gives county commissioners some input here.”

Sen. Fox, speaking as an opponent, called the bill unnecessary.

“There’s everything in place to protect the livestock industry,” Fox said. “You have to jump through so many hoops.”

“We’ve become part of the solution and not the problem,” Fox said of how the transfer of bison has been conducted.

Azure testified that tribes have created and maintained a suitable facility for bison on the Fort Peck Reservation. He said the state isn’t allowed to regulate tribal lands. He noted that the state doesn’t contribute any resources to Fort Peck’s bison program.

“State regulations shouldn’t come between the state and tribal people,” Azure said.

Majel Russell, legal council for the Assiniboine and Sioux tribes of Fort Peck, testified that there hasn’t been adequate consultations done with tribal officials. She questioned what the bill means by the term of a “qualified tribal entity.”

Daniel Werner, legal council for the Fort Peck tribes, said it’s illegal for the state to try to grab power away from the tribes.

In his closing remarks at the hearing, Kassmier said, “We just want to make sure that landowners, the people who will be directly affected, have a way to be heard.”

Roosevelt County Commissioner Gordon Oelkers told the Northern Plains Independent that there already are a lot of rules in place and that the county has no interest in being involved with decisions dealing with bison on tribal lands.

“I don’t think it should have anything to do with the county commissioners,” Oelkers said.

Oelkers feels a bigger issue is large organizations, such as the American Prairie Reserve, bringing buffalo herds into counties.