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The National Bison Range, Moiese, Montana... ...the
first land purchased by the federal government for the purpose of creating a
wildlife refuge
In
1874, Samuel Walking Coyote, a Pend d'Oreille of the Flathead Indian
Reservation, returned from a winter spent with the Blackfeet with two bull
and two cow bison. In 1909, some of the descendents of those bison
were among the first bison to arrive at the newly established National Bison
Range, having been purchased from Louise Corville, the widow of Charles
Allard, who, along with Michel Pablo, purchased bison from Walking Coyote.
2008 marks the 100th Anniversary of the creation of the National Bison
Range.
On the eve of this
anniversary, the National Bison Range is suffering and under threat of
further damage. Throughout the country, National Wildlife Refuges are
facing budget cuts. The National Bison Range had the unique
opportunity to be shielded from much of the damage of these cuts through the
joint management agreement that existed between the FWS and the Confederated
Salish & Kootenai Tribes (CSKT). Through that joint management, the
National Bison Ranged benefited from an annual funding agreement that would
have mitigated the damages of NWR budget cuts. However, in December of
2006 the FWS terminated that joint management deal.
Those budget cuts have already
resulted in staff reduction. Staff reduction has, in turn, already
resulted in reduced open hours for both the visitor's center and the scenic
drives. I fear what other repercussions will be suffered if the
shortage of staff continues.
It is my hope that that next
year we can celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the National Bison Range with
a new joint management deal and annual funding agreement with the
Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes in place and the National Bison
Range not diminished in number of bison, staff, or hours open to the public.
Among the images featured in
this gallery are photos of the Mission Mountains, photos of bull elk in rut,
photos of bull elk in velvet, photos of whitetail deer, photos of pronghorn
antelope, photos of wild birds (including the state bird of Montana - the
western meadowlark), photos of wildflowers (including the state flower
of Montana - the bitterroot), and, of course, photos of bison.
All
images contained herein are the copyrighted property of Katie La Salle-Lowery.
If you wish to use an image for any reason, please contact me at
info@bigskycountry.net.