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Others attending the bison conference in Banff earlier this week called it a ‘disgrace’ for Alberta.

An official with the province, however, said they are already in the process of revising Alberta’s bison status report.

“Right now, all wild bison — except those in Hay-Zama and those in Ronald Lake — don’t have standing under the Wildlife Act,” said Sue Cotterill, director of species at risk, non-game and wildlife disease policy with Alberta Environment and Parks. “We are seeking to rectify that.”

The herd at Hay-Zama, about 120 kilometres west of High Level, is protected as an endangered species, while the herd at Ronald Lake, southeast of Wood Buffalo National Park in northern Alberta, is protected as a subject animal.

Cotterill said the revision of the status report is looking at all free-ranging plains and wood bison, but not domestic bison that are raised as livestock under Alberta Agriculture and Forestry regulations.

Once they revise their wild bison status report, she said scientists will move through a provincial detailed status assessment process — which mirrors a federal process by using the International Union for Conservation of Nature criteria.

It looks at threats to the species, size of the population and availability of habitat, she explained.

“What I would anticipate is that the status assessment will come up with a recommendation on the level of risk that bison wildlife are at in Alberta,” said Cotterill. “They might meet the criteria for endangered, threatened or special concern, or potentially not at risk.”

Once they make a recommendation, it moves to a multi-stakeholder advisory body with Alberta Environment and Parks.

“That committee makes a recommendation to Environment and Parks under the Wildlife Act,” she said.

Cotterill said she expects the whole process to be completed by the spring of 2017.

Plains bison are classified as wildlife in both British Columbia and Saskatchewan, while Manitoba and Alberta still consider them domestic animals.

cderworiz@postmedia.com

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