CSKT Bison Range | |
---|---|
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area) | |
Location | Lake / Sanders counties, Montana, United States |
Nearest city | Missoula, MT |
Coordinates | 47°19′30″N114°13′33″W / 47.32500°N 114.22583°W [1] |
Area | 18,800 acres (76 km2) |
Established | 1908 |
Visitors | est. 250,000(in 2004) |
Governing body | Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes |
Website | bisonrange |
The CSKT Bison Range (BR) is a nature reserve on the Flathead Indian Reservation in western Montana established for the conservation of American bison. Formerly called the National Bison Range, the size of the bison herd at the BR is 350 adult bison and welcomes between 50-60 calves per year. Established as a National Wildlife Refuge in 1908, the BR consists of approximately 18,524 acres (7,496 ha) within the Montana valley and foothill grasslands. Management of the site was transferred back to the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes in 2022 from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service after more than a century of federal management and nearly two decades of negotiations.
The BR has a visitor center, and two scenic roads that allow vehicular access to prime viewing areas. The range is approximately one hour north of Missoula, Montana, off of U.S. Highway 93 directing visitors to the entrance at Moiese, Montana, and the range headquarters.
The range protects one of the most endangered ecosystems in North America, the intermountain bunchgrass prairie. [2] This diverse ecosystem includes grasslands, Douglas fir and ponderosa pine forests, riparian areas and ponds. [3] In addition to the 350 to 500 bison, many other mammal species may be seen on the refuge, including coyote, black bear, elk, mule deer, bighorn sheep, white-tailed deer, pronghorn, mountain cottontail, Columbian ground squirrel, muskrat, yellow-pine chipmunk, badger, and cougar. [4] Over two hundred bird species have been seen on the refuge. [5] The Bison Range also contains many plant species, including the bitterroot, ponderosa pine, and buffalo grass. [6]
Prior to the 1800s, bison were believed to number in the tens of millions, they once were found in all the current U.S. states, except Hawaii, and also throughout Canada. [7] Bison were nearly extinct by 1890, having been part of a Federal government sponsored program of eradication during the Indian Wars, thereby removing a vital food source from the Plains Indians diet, and ensuring easier relocation onto Indian reservations. [8] Bison play an important role in Native culture which includes a deep spiritual connection. [9]
Oral accounts of the tribes recall a man of the Pend d’Oreille tribe named Atatice who knew something needed to be done as the buffalo disappeared. Atatice’s son Latati, or Little Peregrine Falcon, eventually led six orphan bison west to the Flathead Reservation. [9] His stepfather, Samuel Walking Coyote, sold them to horse traders Michel Pablo and Charles Allard in 1884. [10] The Pablo-Allard herd grew to about 300 when in 1896 Allard died and his half of the herd was sold to Charles E. Conrad of Kalispell by his widow. [11] [12] Pablo’s herd continued to grow and range wild along the Flathead River. [13] By the early 1900s, the Pablo-Allard herd was said to be the largest collection of the bison remaining in the U.S. [14] Pablo was notified in 1904 that the government was opening up the Flathead Reservation for settlement by selling off parcels of land. [15] After failed negotiations with the U.S. government, Pablo sold the herd to the Canadian government in 1907. [16] The transfer took until 1912, as the bison were captured and shipped by train from Ravalli, to Elk Island to establish a conservation herd. [17]
The American Bison Society appointed Morton J. Elrod, founder of the Flathead Lake Biological Station, to examine potential reserves in Montana and he suggested the Flathead Reservation. [18] The National Bison Range was established on May 23, 1908 out of a portion of the Reservation. [19] President Theodore Roosevelt signed legislation authorizing funds to purchase land for bison conservation when for the first time Congress appropriated tax dollars to buy land specifically to preserve wildlife. [20] The initial herd of thirty-four American bison were purchased from the Conrad herd by the American Bison Society in 1909. [11] To supplement this, Alicia Conrad added two of her finest animals to the effort. The Refuge also received one bison from Charles Goodnight of Texas and three from the Corbin herd in New Hampshire. [3] The Range was established as a native bird refuge by Congress in 1921. [19] The Civilian Conservation Corps built many of its buildings. [21] : 1, 14, 18–22 A white buffalo, "Big Medicine" (1933-1959), spent his life at the Bison Range. [22] [21] : 70–73 Tribal members visited him to pray and held him in high esteem. [23] [24] [25] In the early 1950s the Montana Historical Society made arrangements to move Big Medicine upon his death to the state's museum to be permanently preserved and displayed. [26] [27] As Indigenous artifacts and culturally significant items are being repatriated by many institutions to tribes, the Montana Historical Society and the state of Montana have committed to transferring ownership to the tribe. The tribe has long desired the return due to the spiritual significance and want to prepare the appropriate infrastructure at the range. [28]
Returning the range to tribal control has been desired by members since it was taken over by the federal government without the tribes consent in 1908. [29] In accordance with the 1994 Self Governance Act, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) negotiated and entered a government-to-government agreement with the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). [30] The agreement allowed the tribes to “take part in refuge programs that are of special geographical, historical, or cultural significance”. The tribes continued the campaign with the submission of three proposals to return the range to tribal control. [31] In 2007, a split mission arrangement was cancelled amidst difficulty in the relationship. [32] A replacement bridge over Mission Creek was completed in 2011 after USFWS contracted with the Tribe using funding from the Recovery Act. [33] USFWS issued a final draft of the National Bison Range Comprehensive Management Plan in 2019. [34] [35] When surplus animals are released from the Range to other conservation herds around the country, the plan called for more collaboration with local, tribal and state partners. [36] The proposed transfer gathered broad support from the community, conservation groups and politicians. [29] After the transfer was included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, a two-year transition process began when it became law on December 27, 2020. [37] [38] With the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) taking the land into trust for CSKT in June 2021, the range was restored to the Flathead Indian Reservation. [39] Assistant Secretary Tara Katuk Sweeney stated that “The CSKT have strong and deep historical, geographic and cultural ties to the land and the bison, and their environmental professionals have been leaders in natural resources and wildlife management for many decades.” [40]
Tribal officials said the public would see little change during the annual reopening of Red Sleep Drive in May 2021 and all proceeds will be used for the management and operation of the Bison Range. [37] Entrance fees were increased and Federal-use passes are no longer accepted since it is no longer a USFWS or National Park Service facility. [41] January 2022 marked the beginning of the first full season of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes managing the site. [42] New exhibits in the visitors center were the result of cultural committees from each tribe getting the correct history where the USFWS was unable to provide resources to improve the information being displayed. [43] Both Secretary of the Interior, Deb Haaland, and state Attorney General, Kristen Juras, spoke at a celebration of the restoration in May. [24] Tribal and government officials mentioned how the reunification of the tribe with the bison, the land and the resources righted a wrong in the history of the reservation. [44]
The range is a small, low-rolling mountain connected to the Mission Mountain Range by a gradually descending spur. Range elevation varies from 2,585 feet (788 m) at headquarters to 4,885 feet (1,489 m) at High Point on Red Sleep Mountain, the highest point on the Range. Much of the Bison Range was once under prehistoric Glacial Lake Missoula, which was formed by a glacial ice dam on the Clark Fork River about 13,000 to 18,000 years ago. The lake attained a maximum elevation of 4,200 feet (1,300 m), so the upper part of the Range was above water. Old beach lines are still evident on north-facing slopes. Topsoil on the Range is generally shallow and mostly underlain with rock which is exposed in many areas, forming ledges and talus slopes. Soils over the major portion of the Range were developed from materials weathered from strongly folded pre-Cambrian quartzite and argillite bedrock. [3]
The Jocko River (Salish: nisisutetkʷ ntx̣ʷe [45] ) is a tributary of the Flathead River that forms the southern boundary of the range at it flows through the Jocko Valley.
The BR has a visitor center, and two scenic roads that allow vehicular access to prime viewing areas. Two gravel roads through the range provide viewing of bison and other wildlife. [46] The range is approximately one hour north of Missoula, Montana, off of U.S. Highway 93 directing visitors to the entrance and the range headquarters at Moiese, Montana. [47]
Ken Burns's 2023 film The American Buffalo includes scenes and interviews shot on the range. [48] [49] [50]
Charlo is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Lake County, Montana, United States. The population was 385 at the 2020 census.
Ravalli is an unincorporated community in Lake County, Montana, United States. The population was 76 at the 2010 census, down from 119 in 2000. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined Ravalli as a census-designated place (CDP). In the early 1900s, the Pablo-Allard herd in Ravalli was said to be the largest collection of the bison remaining in the U.S. and played a critical role in the conservation of bison.
Pablo is a census-designated place (CDP) in Lake County, Montana, United States. The population was 2,138 at the 2020 census. It is the home of Salish Kootenai College and the seat of government of the Flathead Indian Reservation.
Ronan is a city in Lake County, Montana, United States. It is on the Flathead Indian Reservation. The population was 1,955 at the 2020 census.
The Flathead Indian Reservation, located in western Montana on the Flathead River, is home to the Bitterroot Salish, Kootenai, and Pend d'Oreilles tribes – also known as the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Nation. The reservation was created through the July 16, 1855, Treaty of Hellgate.
The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation are a federally recognized tribe in the U.S. state of Montana. The government includes members of several Bitterroot Salish, Kootenai and Pend d'Oreilles tribes and is centered on the Flathead Indian Reservation.
The Bitterroot Salish are a Salish-speaking group of Native Americans, and one of three tribes of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Nation in Montana. The Flathead Reservation is home to the Kootenai and Pend d'Oreilles tribes also. Bitterroot Salish or Flathead originally lived in an area west of Billings, Montana extending to the continental divide in the west and south of Great Falls, Montana extending to the Montana-Wyoming border. From there they later moved west into the Bitterroot Valley. By request, a Catholic mission was built here in 1841. In 1891 they were forcibly moved to the Flathead Reservation.
The Pend d'Oreille or Pend d'Oreilles, also known as the Kalispel, are Indigenous peoples of the Northwest Plateau. Today many of them live in Montana and eastern Washington of the United States. The Kalispel peoples referred to their primary tribal range as Kaniksu.
The Seli’š Ksanka Qlispe’ Dam, also known as SKQ Dam, is a concrete gravity-arch dam located at river mile 72 of the Flathead River. Built in 1938, it raises the level and increases the size of Flathead Lake near Polson, Montana. The dam was designed to generate hydroelectricity but also serves recreational and irrigation uses.
Salish Kootenai College (SKC) is a private tribal land-grant community college in Pablo, Montana. It serves the Bitterroot Salish, Kootenai, and Pend d'Oreilles tribes. SKC's main campus is on the Flathead Reservation. There are three satellite locations in eastern Washington state, in Colville, Spokane, and Wellpinit. Approximately 1,207 students attend SKC. Although enrollment is not limited to Native American students, SKC's primary function is to serve the needs of Native American people.
Ninepipe National Wildlife Refuge is a 4,027-acre (1,630 ha) National Wildlife Refuge and unit of the National Bison Range Complex, located in Lake County, Montana.
Pablo National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge of the United States located in northwestern Montana. It is a unit of the National Bison Range Complex of refuges. It is within the Flathead Indian Reservation, about 2 mi (3.2 km) south of Polson.
The Northwest Montana Wetland Management District is a wildlife management region in the U.S. state of Montana, a part of the National Bison Range Complex along with four other wildlife refuges and the National Bison Range.
The Salish or Séliš language, also known as Kalispel–Pend d'oreille, Kalispel–Spokane–Flathead, or Montana Salish to distinguish it from other Salishan languages, is a Salishan language spoken by about 64 elders of the Flathead Nation in north central Montana and of the Kalispel Indian Reservation in northeastern Washington state, and by another 50 elders of the Spokane Indian Reservation of Washington. As of 2012, Salish is "critically endangered" in Montana and Idaho according to UNESCO.
The Jocko River is a roughly 40-mile (64 km) tributary of the Flathead River in western Montana in the United States. It rises in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains and flows west into the Flathead at Dixon. The elevation is 2,503 feet (763 m) where it joins the Flathead. It is also known as Jacques Fork, Jim's Fork, Prune River or Wild Horse Creek. The river breaks into three forks, the North, Middle and South Forks, of which the Middle Fork is considered the main stem.
Corwin "Corky" Clairmont is a printmaker and conceptual and installation artist from the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Nation. Known for his high concept and politically charged works, Clairmont seeks to explore situations that affect Indian Country historically and in contemporary times.
I don't put work out that gives solutions but provokes questions. - Corky Clairmont
The National Bison Range herd of American bison in Flathead Valley of the U.S. state of Montana consisted of about 300-500 of these animals. The management was transferred from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes in 2021. Other large wildlife found on the CSKT Bison Range include elk, white-tail and mule deer, pronghorn, bighorn sheep and black bear.
U.S. Highway 93 is a north–south United States Numbered Highway in the state of Montana.
The Wolakota Buffalo Range is a nearly 28,000-acre native grassland (11,000 ha) for a bison herd on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota, home of the federally recognized Sicangu Oyate – also known as Sicangu Lakota, and the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, a branch of the Lakota people. The Rosebud Economic Development Corporation (REDCO), the economic arm of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, is managing the land. Established in 2020, the herd will help develop ecological restoration, cultural practices, economic development, food security and public education. Wolakota involves public and private partners coming together in support of native-led efforts. Bison is the correct taxonomic term but buffalo is the common vernacular term. Buffalo continues to hold a lot of cultural significance, particularly for Indigenous people and is commonly used.
The conservation of bison in North America is an ongoing, diverse effort to bring American bison back from the brink of extinction. Plains bison, a subspecies, are a keystone species in the North American Great Plains. Bison are a species of conservation concern in part because they suffered a severe population bottleneck at the end of the 19th century. The near extinction of the species during the 1800s unraveled fundamental ties between bison, grassland ecosystems, and indigenous peoples’ cultures and livelihoods.# English speakers used the word buffalo for this animal when they arrived. Bison was used as the scientific term to distinguish them from the true buffalo. Buffalo is commonly used as it continues to hold cultural significance, particularly for Indigenous people. Recovery began in the late 1800s with a handful of individuals independently saving the last surviving bison.# Dedicated restoration efforts in the 1900s bolstered bison numbers though they still exist in mostly small and isolated populations. Expansion of the understanding of bison ecology and management is ongoing. The contemporary widespread, collaborative effort includes attention to heritage genetics and minimal cattle introgression.#
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Department of Interior .
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