The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) recently announced the launch of the next phase of its campaign to restore a wild, free-ranging bison herd in, and around, the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge (CMR) in northcentral Montana, reports the Wildlife Management Institute. Historically, bison were a dominant element in the plains grassland ecosystem, but have been absent from the CMR for over 100 years. The NWF has been working quietly and cooperatively with local ranchers and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for several years to prepare the CMR for the return of bison. Now, the NWF is ready to engage more interests in the effort to bring this iconic species back to the northern plains.

In 2009, the NWF began applying its model of voluntary retirement of grazing allotments to the CMR as a way to reduce competition between livestock and wildlife and to set the stage for bison restoration. This model was developed in the Yellowstone area to retire more than a half million acres of public land grazing to reduce conflicts between livestock, wolves and grizzly bears. Using this approach, the NWF works with land and wildlife managers to identify allotments where conflict between livestock and wildlife constrain conservation and impact producers' profits. It negotiates with ranchers to buy out and retire these allotments. Ranchers use the proceeds from the sale of their allotment on public land to acquire grazing in other areas that don't conflict with wildlife. Both conservationists and livestock producers come out ahead on the deal.

Within the past two years, the NWF has enabled the retirement of more than 55,000 acres of grazing on the CMR. The goal is to retire all livestock grazing through this mutually beneficial approach. More information is available on the web about the NWF's work to retire grazing allotments.

In a parallel effort, the American Prairie Foundation (APF) has been buying private lands and associated public land grazing allotments adjacent to the CMR from willing sellers, to increase the eventual range available for bison. Together, the APF and the NWF plan to create an area totaling more than 1.5 million acres where a large herd of wild bison could roam without adverse impacts on surrounding ranches. The economic benefits associated with tourism and hunting bison on that size of prairie preserve could be significant to a rural area that has suffered hard times in recent decades.

The NWF is now beginning outreach efforts to share its vision for a wild free-ranging bison herd. Tom France, Executive Director of the NWF's? Northern Rockies and Prairies Region, said, "Early hunter-conservationists such as Teddy Roosevelt and George Bird Grinnell were instrumental in saving the few remaining bison left in the wild in the late 1800s. Since then, the partnership between hunters and wildlife agencies has restored every species of big game to the landscape, except bison. The NWF thinks it's time the legacy of conservation and professional wildlife management is completed."

Among other ways of reaching a broader audience, the NWF plans to host a bison restoration workshop at the 2012 North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference in Atlanta next March. For more information about the workshop or the NWF's efforts to establish a wild, free-ranging herd of bison on the CMR, contact Tom France, or go to the NWF website. (cs)