All the controversy aside, the most disturbing part of this opening day hunt (to me) is how the Clement family was essentially heckled by reporters and the BFC.

This whole bison debate is long-standing and tired, one that is very complex with years of intricate history. However, the hunters who recieved one of the 50 tags for bison this season are the last ones that should be taking flack over this. The Clement family was out there together, working all day to harvest some meat to fill their freezer. As the elder Clement was quoted saying something along the lines of, "where was everyone for the antelope hunt;" the family obviously sees this as an opportunity for food, just like any other hunt during the season, and to continue a tradition in their family.

What really is heart-wrenching to me is that while they are field-dressing and quartering, there are microphones in their face and people critiquing their "cruelty" towards bison. Rather than respect the Clement's motives and privacy, they have created a media spectacle out of it that is bound to be distorted and misconstrued to the lay public.

Where was everyone for the antelope hunt? Let's see....Antelope are considered wildlife both inside and outside Yellowstone; bison are not. Antelope can carry brucellosis, but they are not persecuted for it like bison are (including bull bison, who can't even transmit it). Antelope are not "managed" by the Dept. of Livestock in Montana; bison are. Maybe THAT'S why many folks & media-types didn't get their collective knickers in a twist over the antelope hunt.

Looks like plenty of people need to go back to school on this issue. Please refer to "Bison Hunt 101" on the "Unfiltered" page. Then stay after class and write this Martin Luther King quote on the board 100 times: Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

Its our "Teacher" , Ms. Stachowski, a "rural Montanan" and Im assuming a "well educated" one by the "facts" you have gathered. I havent heard from you since I challenged you to give us some insight on your 25 year managment plan for this particular herd. Or since I asked if a "hunt" for these Bison would EVER be acceptable to you, and if so, under what circumstances? Let me know what day you intend to address these questions to the class so I am sure not to miss out. Thank you for enlightening us with your infinite wisdoom. Youll have to excuse me now while I stand in the corner with my dunce cap on. Manfred Zeller

To make the bison hunt "fair chase", hunters should be required to start the hunt naked and be able to use only the tools and weapons they can make themselves out of local materials.

metafilter has taken notice..

Don, Yes that would surely be fair. It would also increase the amount of animals that were mortally wounded, and not recovered. Better yet, lets leave the spears at home and panic the herd over a tall cliff, then bluggen the ones to death that have survived the fall with only broken legs and backs. Come to think of it, wouldnt it be more humane to just let them multiply until their range was depleted and they starved to death by the thousands on a harsh winter? Yes, now were talking, lets "get back to nature" MZ

Hunting under these conditions; on an open field with a handful of docile animals who wouldn't bother running away until you got within a few feet of them, is a meat harvest. Sure, we all gotta eat, and there's nothing wrong with some wild meat. However, as the article mentions, the brucellosis threat is a bunch of trumped up cow-poop and does not justify the 'management tool' that the hunt is being sold to the media as.
Those of us who oppose this hunt have generally done our research; something that given the facts, those who support the hunt have obviously not done.
Take some time to learn about the disease and how it is transmitted, then take a look at the maps that tell you where the cattle are and where the bison are, and then try to formulate a theory in which cattle become infected with brucellosis.
Here's one to get you started.
A hunter shoots a pregnant cow bison, and gets some infected birth matter on his hands. He then hops in his truck, drives to his cattle farm and lets the cow lick his hands.
Assuming the disease can stay alive as he drives home, he might just endanger Montana's brucellosis status. That sounds like a risk to me. Unlikely, sure, but no more unlikely than a bull buffalo infecting cattle on land that cattle never roam on. Yet the later is a risk that is actually being managed for with 'tools' such as this hunt.
Obviously, no reasearch is neccesary anyway when you deal with such flawed logic.

Those who oppose the hunt seem to "gather" different "facts" that the ones that support it. Im not sure what to think of the whole thing. I also agree that the "brucellosis hype" has been blown out of porportion. I DO have a hard time believing the 50, (actually 48 now) folks that will attempt to harvest a Buffalo this year are concered about doing their part to protect Montanas B-Free status. I dont think it is unfair to call it a meat harvest, but I know folks who have packed the meat of a mountain goat several miles (and several thousand feet in elevation) to their dinner table. Is that a meat harvest as well? I dont see that the harvesting of 50 Buffalo this year will stop the Yellowstone herd from expanding the area they currently reside. I DO see it feeding ALOT of hungry Montanans. I would be curious to see some actual clear statements from the folks opposing this hunt as to
1. What a "viable" population in Mt is considered? (an ACTUAL figure)

2. Is their a certain range (an actual boundry)the opposition has in mind for this herd in the future?

3. If the heard was "established" permenatly in Mt over the period of several years (or decades) at what point could Mt consider a hunt?

4. In 2 years, or 20 or 50 when a hunt is considered will it be considered "fair chase" or a "meat harvest" as I am very unclear on how these Bison will aquire a fear of humans.

I guess I am saying, if this is not the solution, what is REALISTICLY? MZ

The animals in the zoo would feed a lot of hungry Montanans too. The stray cats in my neighborhood would also make quite a few stir-fries. I hear dogs are yummy too. There's quite a few who keep me up at night around here. Where can I get a permit?
Currently only a small handful of bison wander into Montana without being chased back into the park or slaughtered. The population is well below viable limits. What's an exact number where nature is concerned? How about 54,234, or 123,975? It also depends on how many cows we allow to remain munching in the National Forests? If the buffalo were allowed to roam free they would become too much of a competitor to the cattle, and that's precisely why they aren't given habitat in the state. That's the issue here? A certain range? Anywhere they want, but for a start the National Forests, which are suppossed to be for wildlife anyway and not welfare ranching.
A bison hunt might just always be a meat harvest. I'm not sure we could ever teach them to fear us, and I dont think I want to try. Over and over again it's been stated: what the buffalo need most of all before you can consider them game animals is habitat.
If you visit the BFC website you might get some clearer answers to your questions. I haven't been there in a year so I couldnt sketch out a vision of the future hunt, but there are people there who have truly taken everything into consideration and have actual solutions for the brucellosis problem based in science and not on pork-barrel politics.

I am very familiar with the BFC websight and am aware that their "opinion" of the number of Bison in the Yellowstone herd being "well below the viable limits" contradicts many other reports. Dont beleive everything you read from BFC reports (ie First Buffalo shot taking 45 minutes to die, and oh yes I WAS there) I havent noticed any of the tag holders BEGGING for food and clothing to enjoy a year round vacation in West Yellowstone. Looks like they are taking care of their own. Also, you may want to be careful with the "cat-stir fry" statement, board member Stachowski may start quoting Martin Luther King and cry racism. Wouldnt it be best if you and I and any other Non Native homosapiens that live in the states moved back to Europe, or Japan or Mars or wherever we all came from and let the native species of animals and the Native Americans have their land back? Dont tell me the roads that you drive arent the roads that divide crucial migration routes to many species and the house you live in dosent cover forage that one of those 123,975 Bison could use to make it through the winter. I know what your thinking, "lets be realistic" We all seem to embrace reality very differently than our neighbors. Your statements confirm my thoughts that a Bison hunt would NEVER be acceptable under ANY terms in the state. I sometimes wonder if the BFC feels the same way deep down. I truly think they need to be MORE specific in their agenda and not rely on downright false reporting to win the hearts of "the uneducated world" MZ

I'm late into this particular debate, but the hunt continues and there's a need to correct some misguided information. I think we all kind of want the same thing...but, there's a lot of flame-throwing going on here that doesn't need to happen. In defense of BFC, we are on the frontlines WITH the buffalo watching all of these actions take place. We know the landscape, we know the buffalo, we know the agents, we know the issue... we are here bearing witness. We invite any one of you to join us and to see for yourself what goes on. Our information is accurate - video doesn't lie... neither do we... neither do the buffalo. Ah, but the government...

First of all, can we just for a minute try to see things from the Buffalo's point of view? Not to anthropomorphosize, but not to be anthropocentric either. Try to think like a Bison just for a moment. This is their home. For over 10,000 years they have been living, growing, evolving here with this landscape. They have been displaced and now - with the exception of Yellowstone - are only found on ranches or small parcels of publc land where they are rounded up like cattle. The buffalo we are talking about are THE LAST WILD HERD, the descendents of the ONLY SURVIVORS of the shameful U.S. bison slaughter of the 1800's. Once they were 50 million (give or take) strong across this entire country, now we cry about "too many" bison in a box on the map the size of a dot. Pahleeze. They aren't even allowed to leave that dot. They are held prisoner to Yellowstone. What a shame.

Unlike cattle, wild Bison are as native to Montana as the mountains and prairies. They are native to nearly every inch of America's lower 48, yep, including Florida. But, Montana. Big state. Big sky. Big Bison... seems to go together perfectly. But, it's the big bucks made by a certain few that have us rattling each other's cages over this. We all pay for this madness in so many ways. But, I digress...

This so-called hunt is totally illegitimate for a few reasons:

1. Bison are not allowed to enter Montana at any time of the year without being subjected to hazing, capture,slaughter, quarantine, or shooting. Name ANY other wildlife species letigimately hunted in Montana where that's the case.

2. Bison are currently managed by the Department of LIVESTOCK when they enter Montana. Again, this sets a horrible precedent people - the cattle industry cares about one thing... money. Name ANY other wildlife species that are managed by the DOL.

3. Bison are provided NO HABITAT in Montana. The state says it has put aside a 460,000-acre "tolerance zone" or hunting area for the buffalo. The vast majority of this land is mountainious and rocky and is not used by wild buffalo. Wild buffalo need the lower-elevation grasslands and that, my friends, is more of what this is about. Further, this so-called "tolerance" zone is available to bison ONLY while they can be hunted. After Feb. 15 ends, it's back to hazing, capture and slaughter.

These are just three reasons that this hunt is a farce. Nevermind the fact that this is the last wild, migrating herd of bison left in the country. Nevermind that brucellosis is an excuse to horde public lands grass. Nevermind that these bison are a genetic goldmine and the future of wild bison depends on them. Nevermind that there are workable, rational solutions to the mismanagement of the last wild bison. Nevermind that the cattle industry is raping YOU and the LAND and taking the bison down with it. You're being duped into thinking this hunt is a good idea. Nevermind that the lands we advocate for bison to roam are PUBLIC lands - held in trust by all Americans. Yet, the cattle industry is calling all the shots.

Take a look at Montana. It's huge, vast, open. There's so much room for wild buffalo. Why the line? Why do you have to draw a line? Do deer or elk have a "line" drawn. You can be here, but you can't be here... no, we must stop being so bloody selfish and learn to coexist. This isn'' feel-good talk, this is common sense. There are millions of acres of contiguous national forest and other public lands that could be opened to buffalo. There's also incentives that could be given to private land owners to allow buffalo to access thier property. There are plenty of workable solutions, but everyone gets so caught up in the argument and sides, that we can't see.

This isn't about opposing or supporting HUNTING... If the entire InterAgency Bison Management Plan was thrown out the window,and bison were allowed to exist where they chose, I would not oppose a hunt. But, this what we have now isn't a hunt... this is a bison-eradication tool and the DOL is using it very well. Did you know they - not FWP - are the AUTHORIZING agency in this hunt? Yes, it's true.. the mighty Department of LIVESTOCk is authorizing a wildlife hunt. Sick. Welcome to Montana.

All I know is that the truth is on the buffalo's side. Let them be a wild species. Let them roam their native landscape. Then you can talk about a legitimate hunt and save face while doing it.

Please contact me or visit us at BFC anytime. Everyone should see for themselves what this is really all about. Greed lies. The truth is on the buffalo's side.

I understand the BFC is well intended for the most part, but practical?
You seem to have an "in a perfect World" attitude. To a Buffalo, a perfect World would be being able to graze on the native grasses your Hebgen Lake rental Cabin now covers or migrate across 191 without the risk of being run over by one of your free Subarus.
To "Let the Buffalo roam free" sounds like a good advertising phrase to a donater from San Fransisco or New York, but is it practical?
No boundries? Elk and deer DO have boundries. Check out the FWPs general big game regs and how Montana is divided in to "umteen million" management zones.
The Mule Deer that are being shot by the FWP inside the Helena city limits seem to have wandered outside of their boundry as well, and death was also the price they paid.
I am guessing they were "genetically pure" as well.
You know Stephany, I like the heck out of you guys, It just mustifys my your agenda is so vauge. In the next year or two, try to have your group establish a DETAILED set of criteria that when met, allows you say... "Finally, our work here is done"
When that is accomplished, the Mule Deer in Helena might need some saving too. MZ