First bison taken in Montana's bison hunt

GARDINER, Mont. — For the first time in 15 years, a bison fell to a hunter's bullet near here today after wandering out of the protection of nearby Yellowstone National Park.

Montana's contentious bison hunt got under way at sunrise, with a light layer of snow on the ground and the temperature hovering at 4 degrees. Within the first 90 minutes, at least one of the beasts was dead.

George Clement, 17, of Belgrade, who won one of the coveted licenses in a drawing this fall, shot one of the bison in a draw near Gardiner, just north of Yellowstone.

Clement was accompanied by family members and took the day off from school to take part in the hunt.

Animal-rights activists also were on hand, armed with cameras, as Clement and his companions skinned the animal where it fell. State wildlife officials also were out in force around Gardiner for the start of the hunt to monitor for any problems or possible run-ins with protesters and to help deal with news reporters.

But officials said they expect many of those who drew hunting permits would stay home on the opening day of the season.

"I've had a lot of hunters say to me, 'We're going to stay away. We don't want the attention,"' FWP spokeswoman Mel Frost said. "I haven't had anybody say, 'We don't mind. We're going out."'

Montana's last bison hunt was in 1990. The hunts were canceled after drawing outrage, in part because of the way they were conducted. Wardens led each hunter to a specific animal, which often was peacefully grazing when it was shot at close range.

But in 2003, lawmakers opened the door to resuming the hunt, and state wildlife officials have stressed that this hunt won't resemble the earlier ones.

For example, state wildlife officials cannot tell hunters where bison have wandered from the safe confines of the park, and there are limits on how many bison can be killed. The three-month season that opened today is split into two sessions; up to 25 bison could be killed during each.

State and federal officials see the hunt as one more way to help manage a population that has grown to an estimated 4,900 animals. Some experts say that is more than the park's forage can support, though the opinion is not unanimous.

Some of Yellowstone's bison have brucellosis, and their wandering into the state to look for winter forage concerns Montana livestock officials and ranchers who say the animals could spread the disease to cattle. Activists counter that there has never been a documented case of this in the wild.