Icy air dampens enthusiasm of bison, elk hunters

GARDINER, Mont. — A bitterly cold Saturday morning made for a slow start to the Nez Perce Indian Tribe's newly expanded bison and elk hunt.

A handful of trucks carrying tribal members cruised the roads in the Jardine area northeast of here, but nobody seemed to be hunting very energetically, the Bozeman Daily Chronicle reported Sunday.

The hunters were primarily interested in bison, according to Cpl. April Skahan, of Nez Perce Fisheries Conservation Enforcement, which enforces the tribe's fishing and hunting laws.

But there weren't many bison around, except for a group of 40 grazing on the Gardiner High School football field, where they are off limits to any type of hunting.

Few bison have left Yellowstone National Park so far this winter.

The group of hunters have been issued tribal tags good for six bison and five elk.

According to an 1855 treaty, the tribe has hunting rights on "open and unclaimed" land near Yellowstone, which means they can hunt on national forest land but not on state or private property.

Tribal hunters took six bison last winter, the first time in modern history the tribe exerted its hunting rights here. All of those animals were killed close to roads, making the processing of the giant beasts relatively easy.

Elk are secondary targets, Skahan told the Chronicle.

"If they're going to drive this far, they want a buffalo," she said. "Some of them might take an elk. But we've got elk at home."

However, it is the tribe's claim on species other than bison that have wildlife managers here concerned.

Tribal Executive Committee Chairman Rebecca Miles said in a Jan. 9 letter to Montana officials that the tribe intends to issue tags this winter for 50 to 70 bison, plus 50 tags each for elk, bighorn sheep, moose, antelope and mountain goats.

Those animals can all be found in the Yellowstone area, but some species can't handle that kind of pressure, Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials told the newspaper.

Some of those same officials hope to meet soon with Nez Perce officials to explain their concerns.

Meanwhile, the hunt has started in a limited way, though only for relatively abundant bison and elk so far.