Save the National Bison Range, LLC is a small entity representing the deep concerns of a large number of individuals who continue to treasure one of America’s first National Wildlife Refuges – the National Bison Range – situated within but separate and apart from the Flathead Indian Reservation of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (“CSKT”) located in northwestern Montana.
The members of Save the National Bison Range, LLC are deeply concerned that the U.S. Department of Interior’s Fish and Wildlife Service (“USFWS”) has once again publicly misrepresented its plans for gifting away the National Bison Range to the CSKT as further reparations for America’s 19th century western expansion policies and actions.
The National Bison Range is a National Wildlife Refuge, not just any ordinary National Park. It was created by former President Theodore Roosevelt on May 23, 1908.
Pursuant to the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act, lands, waters and wildlife designated as “National Wildlife Refuges” are to be stewarded, maintained and held in trust by the Federal Government, namely, by the USFWS in perpetuity for the benefit and interest of current and future generations of ALL Americans, not just Indian tribes.
By deceptively and dishonestly seeking in their recently introduced legislation (Section 13 of S.3019 – The Montana Water Rights Protection Act), without securing Americans’ or Montanans’ consent, to transfer the National Bison Range to the CSKT, which considers itself NOT subject to the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights, as part of the highly controversial CSKT Water Compact, Montana’s U.S. Senators Daines and Tester have, once again, betrayed their Senatorial Oath of Office to uphold the Constitution, to serve all Montanans, and to serve all Americans.
The Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”), is intended to allow Americans to request and secure copies of federal records produced, controlled and exchanged by federal executive agencies with third parties.
To secure confirmation of Senator Daines’ and Tester’s motivations and objectives for transferring away to the CSKT this jewel of the National Wildlife Refuge System, Save the National Bison Range, LLC has issued three sets of FOIA requests to various offices and agencies of the U.S. Department of the Interior. See links to all FOIAs filed here.
Each of these three sets of FOIA requests posted to this website below contain informational footnotes and hyperlinks to critically important and revealing documents relevant to our effort to Save the National Bison Range.
Each of these three sets of FOIA requests seeks copies of records concerning the possible transfer by the USFWS of the National Bison Range to the CSKT, that each of the offices and agencies contacted have exchanged with different third parties, including Senators Daines and Tester, since 2014-2015.
The members of Save the National Bison Range, LLC would greatly appreciate your further support in stopping this potential tragedy from occurring without the say of the We the People.
Please contact us as soon as possible at the following address:
Save the National Bison Range, LLC
P.O. Box 153
St. Ignatius, Montana 59865
(406) 531-7582