The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

There is a very important meeting at the Senior Citizen's Center June 8 at 3pm. The Big Sandy Conservation District officials will be there to discuss their proposed new ordinance to keep grazing bison from destroying conservation lands. Dana Darlington is the head of the Big Sandy Conservation District.

He stated, "This meeting is about the Big Sandy Conservation Ordinance. It is to inform the public about protecting the soil and water if wild or domesticated bison are grazing in the Big Sandy Conservation District."

Darlington continued, "Due to the behavior of bison, they can create a negative and lasting impact on soil and water reserves."

Valley and McCone counties were the first conservation districts to come up with this ordinance.

If the ordinance passes the conservation district, then it will be on the November ballot for the people of Chouteau County to vote on.

Darlington says this is very important because Chouteau County's Conservation Districts start just north of the Missouri River. If the American Prairie Reserve were to purchase some property in the Big Sandy Conservation District, the District would like to make sure that area is managed correctly.

"Already the American Prairie Reserve is right across the Missouri River from Chouteau County in Fergus County where they bought the PN Ranch," added Darlington.

"I am not saying that the American Prairie Reserve should not be able to buy land but they should have to do it with standards that do not affect anyone else," added Darlington. "That does not seem to be the case."

Darlington urges all concerned citizens to be at the June 8th meeting.

"I would like people to attend this meeting because it affects all of us in this community. It is not just the cattlemen's fight, it is everyone's fight because of these special interest groups who continue to purchase land and return it to what they consider a natural and historic use by raising bison," Darlington said. "The removal of interior fences, filling in reservoirs and eliminating families from family farms and ranches, small communities like Big Sandy cannot survive and a few tourist dollars cannot compare to young agricultural couples raising families in our communities."

That meeting to discuss the proposed Big Sandy Conservation Ordinance is at the Senior Citizen's Center, Wednesday, June 8 at 3pm.