Working group forms for review of bill draft

The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes on Friday released a draft bill to transfer management of the National Bison Reserve near Moiese from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to the tribes.

The tribes also announced the formation of a working group composed of tribal members, conservation groups and other organizations and individuals to review comments on the bill draft.

For the next two weeks, the tribes are accepting public comments on the draft legislation, which would remove the 18,000-acre preserve from the National Wildlife Refuge System and place it into federal trust for the tribes. The transfer would include the refuge’s visitor center and all other structures and improvements.

Under the proposed transfer, the tribes would be required to maintain public access to the land and continue to manage the reserve solely for bison, wildlife and natural resource conservation.

Rob McDonald, a spokesman for the tribes, said the tribes have an “open door policy” and are still accepting new members of the working group.

“Once we get the comments, we’ll evaluate them and work toward finalizing the bill,” he said. “Ultimately, [tribal] council will approve what our team of attorneys, experts and technicians will put together.”

The ownership of the land as federal property held in trust means the tribes would retain most of the rights as property owners, but would be prohibited from selling or giving away land without federal approval.

It also would allow for “nonconflicting purposes of the tribes” on the reserve, which McDonald said is intended to maintain the tribes’ ability to hold celebrations and continue traditional cultural practices.

The bison range was established in 1908 is located entirely within the boundaries of the reservation.

The bill draft notes that while the North American plains bison was at the time on the brink of extinction, the species is no longer critically imperiled after a century of successful recovery.

The U.S. took land from the reservation to create the refuge, over the objections of the tribes. A federal court later ruled that the government’s compensation was below fair market value and the tribes have maintained that no amount of money could sufficiently compensate the loss of the land.

If the draft bill becomes law, the Department of Interior would transfer to the tribes “funds, personal property and equipment, or other resources deemed appropriate” to manage the range during a two-year transition period.

Counties containing portions of national wildlife refuges are entitled to payments each year under a federal revenue-sharing program.

Because Lake and Sanders counties would no longer receive those payments, the bill would partially reimburse their governments for five years after the law is enacted: 90 percent of those payments in the first year, 75 percent the following year and 50 percent for each of the next three years. Lake County’s payments under the program totaled $37,218 in the last fiscal year, according to county treasurer Patti Duford Kugler.

The draft also includes language that would prohibit the transfer from being interpreted as a precedent for similar actions elsewhere in the country — a concern repeatedly raised by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, a national nonprofit group that has long opposed the tribes assuming management authority of the federal reserve.

The group is currently suing the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Department of the Interior, alleging the government violated federal law by endorsing the transfer without initiating an environmental review.

To that end, the bill specifies that department’s involvement in the two-year transition period would not qualify as a “major federal action” under the National Environmental Policy Act.

McDonald said that while tribal representatives have spoken with Montana’s congressional delegation about the proposal, they have not yet determined a sponsor for the bill.

Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., and Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., have both indicated support for the process, but said they are waiting to see the final bill language before lending their support. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., has also stated he is monitoring the proposals.

To view the draft bill or comment online, visit: www.Bison-RangeWorkingGroup.org.

Comments can also be submitted by email to Bison-RangeWorkingGroup@gmail.com.

The deadline for comments is June 24 at noon.

Reporter Sam Wilson can be reached at 758-4407 or by email at swilson@dailyinterlake.com.