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Environment
Report looks at tribal bison range management


A new report from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service cites "tremendous progress" in the first year of tribal management at the National Bison Range in Montana.

But the report also says the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes failed to complete some of the tasks at the range. Although the tribe was "fully successful" at completing 41 percent of its duties, 24 percent of activities need "improvement" while 13 percent were "unsuccessful."

The tribe and the FWS entered into an annual funding agreement to share management of the range. Critics, including conservation groups and employee groups, say the report indicates the tribe can't complete the job.

The tribe submitted a lengthy response to the FWS, saying it was "disappointed" by some of the report's findings.

Get the Story:
Report critical of Bison Range management (The Missoulian 7/30)

Evaluation Report:
Implementation of the Annual Funding Agreement (May 2006)

Relevant Links:
Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes - http://www.cskt.org
National Bison Range - http://bisonrange.fws.gov
Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility - http://www.peer.org

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