Shocking public opinion poll on bison in Montana-

A random sample survey of 500 Montana registered voters just released shows that Montanans strongly support free roaming bison on some public lands in the state outside of Yellowstone Park, where they are essentially confined in a legal sense and subject to frequent mass cullings. Folks in Montana also overwhelming support tribal efforts to have wild bison on reservation lands. In other words, “nearly eight in ten Montana voters support restoring wild bison populations on public lands (76% support) and on tribal lands (78% support).”

County politicians in Montana have been making bison policy decisions that affect all of Montana and all Americans, but the poll shows “Seventy four (74%) percent think decisions about wild bison should be made by biologists and wildlife officials rather than county politicians.”

Two-thirds said they supported efforts to start up new, disease free bison herds around the state. 72% want bison managed like other wildlife, not as livestock, despite the best attempts by the Montana Department of Livestock and many in the state legislature to reduce bison to the lowly position of livestock.

There is a whole slew of proposals in the new state legislature on bison management, and the public rejects all of them. They are “Reclassify all wild bison in Montana as livestock so they are managed as livestock instead of as wildlife” 18% 78% rejected. “Prohibit the establishment of any wild bison population in the state of Montana” 29% 63% rejected. “Allow private landowners to shoot any wild bison that enter onto private land” 35% 60% rejected, and “Establish a year-round hunting season for bison in Montana” 34% 59% rejected.

Of course, just because the public really dislikes the management policies now advocated by many (a majority?) of Montana politicians does not mean these measures will not be passed by the legislature. In the past, voting against the public on these issues has not seemed to have hurt anyone running for office in Montana.

Tulchin Research conducted the survey for Defenders of Wildlife. Here is the report summary (PDF file). http://www.defenders.org/publications/Defenders-of-Wildlife-Montana-Bison-Poll-Public-Memo-1-15.pdf