It is time for a cease-fire in the so-called buffalo hunts that take place on the western and northern edges of Yellowstone National Park. Winter came early and hard and we witnessed one of the largest migrations into Montana long before Yellowstone was established. No less than 1,175 buffalo were killed — the majority of them were slaughtered in the killing fields of Beattie Gulch in the Gardiner Basin — mostly by tribal hunters.
The Department of Interior recently announced $5 million to support the restoration of buffalo populations in tribal communities, but some advocates say the funding is focused in the wrong area.
I expected the recent meeting of those involved with the Interagency Bison Management Plan to be highly emotional given the national and international outrage over the indiscriminate killing of so