Some things I've learned about bison as wildlife. A way to get involved and find likeminded people: Liberty on the Rocks.

Some things I've learned about bison as wildlife

After posting about a draft bill for the coming legislative session to make bison livestock and wildlife (as opposed to just livestock as per current law -- see the older newsletter linked first below for context), I had a reader or two write me about it. There were some things these readers thought worth sharing about the topic and they urged me to look some more.

I try to make a habit of this because, if you're like me and didn't grow up around ranching, there are plenty of gaps to fill. Doing some looking did provide more info worth sharing, hence this follow-up.

I cannot say I have the full picture, and there is still plenty I don't know, but the below will hopefully add to the conversation and help those of us not in the know to be better informed.

Bison reintroduction and/or classification is an effort that has stretched back years in Colorado. As far as I can tell, it started started as something put before the Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) commissioners, back in 2022. This effort failed, thus the effort being renewed in the legislature.

There are several groups at play in the effort. I have heard of indigenous groups being involved. I have also seen monied out of state groups in the mix (as has been the pattern with environmental/wildlife causes in Colorado). I have also seen a mix of the two, that is indigenous groups working with environmental/wildlife groups (such as the National Wildlife Federation and The Nature Conservancy). For more on that see the second link below.

I can say with no doubt that the Omaha, NE group Grasslands Unlimited (see the third link below for their webpage) is involved in the effort: they admit as much on their website. See screenshot 1 for an extended quote from same. They were also the group originally petitioning CPW in 2022.

Rumors abound too. The name Ted Turner has been tossed around here and there as a rumor. I can't find much in the way of a reference on his activity in Colorado (he's big in bison elsewhere and the speculation is that he's eager for those tax benefits for his herds), so I would characterize this right now as mostly rumor. Perhaps informed rumor, but rumor nonetheless.

A look in at the websites of these various groups helps illuminate the reason for pushing bison as wildlife. Indigenous groups, want this for historical/cultural reasons. They want bison as livestock and wildlife roaming free; they have a tight connection to the animal as it was for centuries the basis of their economy among other sacred/religious reasons.

Groups such as The Nature Conservancy and Grasslands Unlimited don't pull punches either. They would like to reintroduce bison as a way to "rewild" parts of Colorado. That is, currently almost all bison herds extant in the US are confined and managed, whereas advocates would like them to be free of fences and management.

Go and revisit their links (or see them for the first time) below; you can see their desired outcome reflected in the glowing language about bison roaming the Plains prior to settlement by Europeans. Screenshot 2 attached (from the Nature Conservancy link) is a prime example.

Other reasons are more speculative. There are managed herds on BLM and Ute land that occasionally wander into Colorado. One of the major talking points about making bison into wildlife has leaned heavily on the notion that these inter-state wanderers are being killed off by mean ranchers in Colorado. Revisit (if you missed it) screenshot 1 near the bottom for an example.

How big a concern is this, however? I went back and found a CPW commissioners meeting from 2022 which took place in NW Colorado and link to a recording from this meeting fourth below.

If you watch, starting at the 2:40:00 mark, you'll see a report by a wildlife manager about bison (NOT) crossing the state line. None came across "all summer" as far as the gentleman could report.** This doesn't mean more haven't come across in the years since, or prior, but I don't think it could be reasonably claimed that "herds" of bison, as Grasslands Unlimited has it, are accidentally crossing state lines and facing oblivion at the hands of ranchers. 2022 wouldn't be a rare case of no bison with giant influxes bracketing it.

Equally speculative is a rumor that (and one that is a concern of mine as well) the presence of bison will be used as a "policy lever" by environmentalists/wildlife advocate/rewilding fans. That is, if bison can be wildlife, then their mere presence changes the dynamics of land use.

For example, when the BLM goes to determine their leasing to ranchers, part of the calculus involves how many wild animals need that rangeland to survive. I'll give a quick example. Let's say that a particular area could feed 100 animals that graze. If there are, say, 20 wild horses there, then the BLM would lease the land to 80 cattle.

Now, let's allow wild bison into the mix. If the range could support 100 animals, has 20 wild horses, and 10 bison enter the mix, now you can only lease to 70 cattle.

One last thing to mention that I found in my research on this topic. Bison, like other animals such as elk and cattle, can carry Brucellosis (see the 5th link below), a disease which originally was brought to this country by cattle, but got traded back and forth.

Cattle, livestock managed by humans, is vaccinated against the disease and monitored for it, but wild bison are not. As carriers, if the wild bison mix in and/or around the cattle, it will at the least mean more surveillance and testing (extra cost and bother) for cattle producers, an expensive and undesirable burden on an industry already struggling.

Putting all this together, I think there are some takeaways for people thinking this issue over.

--There are multiple groups, working in concert or not, with compatible goals re. getting bison listed as wildlife in addition to livestock.

--If this happens there will be some positive consequences, but there are also going to be negative ones.

--I do not see great harm befalling bison from NOT being classed as wildlife.

--I cannot predict the future and am not big on conspiracy theories, so I'll put it this way: I have concerns that if bison get listed as wildlife that they will be used later by groups as a policy lever.

That fleshes out the issue some for me. If this is a passion, go to the first link below, look up the prospective bill and follow it in the coming legislative session.

**The rumor, undocumented as of now, that I heard was a CPW report of about 5 known bison crossing in the last 50 or so years.

https://open.substack.com/pub/coloradoaccountabilityproject/p/bison-as-wildlife-and-livestock-cultivando?

https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/united-states/colorado/stories-in-colorado/zapata-ranch-bison/

https://www.grasslandsunlimited.org/projects/advocacy/

https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/nature/brucellosis.htm

Related:

I couldn't quite shoehorn it in to the post above, but part of what I read in researching and preparing the post above this about bison was the link below.

Pretty well-written and thorough look at the issue, at least as it stood in 2022 when the thrust was to try and get this done through CPW.

https://www.themeateater.com/conservation/wildlife-management/are-bison-wildlife-colorado-conservation-group-asks-state-game-agency

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Liberty on the Rocks

Live in or around the Front Range (or know someone who does), and want to meet fellow Liberty-minded people?

I saw a posting on social media recently about a group called "Liberty on the Rocks (Denver chapter)" and thought I'd pass it along.

According to their Meetup page linked below, they are (quoting):

"... a non-profit libertarian organization that empowers and assists liberty enthusiasts in becoming better connected, informed, and involved."

Perhaps it's just me, but I've felt something of a groundswell post this last election. If it is happening, I'm glad to see it, and it's about time.

The "liberty enthusiasts" of this state have always been here, but they seem to be speaking more and louder lately. I hope this continues.

If you've been sitting on the sidelines waiting to find a way to get involved or to learn how to get involved and active, consider joining this group (or a different one).

You'll find that you are not alone in your concern about this state and where it's headed.

https://www.meetup.com/liberty-on-the-rocks-denver/