To some it seems a minor nuance: should bison transferred from Yellowstone National Park to other areas of the state be categorized as wildlife or as livestock? But that nuance makes all the difference in this issue.
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks had an opportunity to provide clarity on that distinction in their latest bison transfer to the Fort Peck Tribe in November. Unfortunately, their handling of the transfer has served only to further confuse things.
Being categorized as livestock doesn't mean that bison would be treated like cattle. In fact, even with a livestock distinction the animals would be allowed to roam within their boundaries just like wildlife.
From the bison’s perspective, there’s no difference in being categorized as wildlife or as livestock.
Where the designation matters is for private landowners neighboring the areas where bison are located.
If bison are wildlife, those landowners cannot stop them from entering their property. They can’t call up the animals’ “owner” to come and remove them. Those landowners would be expected to just “put up” with bison on their property, just like they do for deer or antelope.
But of course bison are not like other wildlife. A herd of bison can cause enormous damage to property. They can decimate a field of crops. Bison can be dangerous to humans, livestock and pets. And they’re known carriers of brucellosis.
So where the livestock/wildlife distinction really matters is in who pays. If they’re wildlife, then private property owners would be forced to shoulder the burden—they’d have to absorb the costs of damage to property and crops, and would be exposed to the catastrophic risk of brucellosis infecting their cattle herd.
That simple reason is why Montana landowners have been persistent in asking that any transferred bison herd be categorized as livestock, so the question of “who pays” is clear.
With a livestock designation, some entity is responsible for the bison—if they get onto private property, there’s someone to call to retrieve them. If they cause property damage, someone is responsible for paying for it. It’s a completely reasonable thing for landowners to ask for.
If Montana FWP would simply agree to classify transferred bison as livestock, this entire controversy would go away.
It’s troubling that FWP won’t give a straight answer on the classification question.
In written statements about the latest bison transfer, FWP indicates that the animals are both livestock and wildlife, a duality that cannot be.
FWP states that “the tribes will have all the rights of ownership” within the reservation boundaries. And that “the tribes will be solely responsible for any damage” caused by the animals if they escape, paid from an insurance policy the tribe secured for this purpose.
Designating the tribe as the responsible party for damages reinforces their ownership role, which can only exist with a livestock classification.
But the same FWP document goes on to state that these bison “will be considered and managed as wildlife… under FWP’s jurisdiction.”
That’s a serious contradiction—these bison cannot both be owned by the Fort Peck Tribe and still be considered wildlife. No entity can “own” wildlife in Montana.
That contradiction brings into doubt the insurance policy that is supposed to cover damage to neighboring property. FWP’s mealy-mouthed statements on their classification leave a gaping loophole for the insurance company to refuse to enforce the policy.
Montana landowners are willing to work with those wanting to restore bison to the landscape in Montana. But it is simply unreasonable to force wild bison on private property where they are not wanted, and then expect those property owners to pay the costs to boot.
There are plenty of places where bison are wanted—private ranches, tribal lands—and plenty of public land that can be fenced to contain a bison herd. There are reasonable, middle-of-the-road solutions on this issue. But before we can get to any of those solutions, Montana FWP needs to stop obfuscating and agree that transferred bison will have a livestock designation.
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