Federal officials to unravel Bison Range brouhaha

February 2, 2007 in Bison Range

by Jay Stevens 

More news from the Bison Range:

An independent investigator found that federal employees were often the target of “abuse and intimidation” from, one can only assume from the article, which doesn’t explicitly say, Salish Kootenai tribal members:

The investigation was commissioned by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service after several federal workers filed a grievance in September citing sexual harassment, hostile working conditions, substandard safety, racial slurs and violence. They also alleged mistreatment of animals, as well as potential criminal violations involving federal property and funds.

The investigation was commissioned by the Fish and Wildlife Service, so it’s possible the investigation found what the FWS wanted it to. On the other hand, it’s pretty damning, and the timing is impeccable.

Officials from the Department of the Interior, which reversed the FWS’ decision to stop the handover of the refuge’s control to the Confederated Salish Kootenai Tribes, have arrived on the scene in order to hash out what’s been going on.

The arrival of the officials coincided with a statement from Dennis Rehberg that I actually — *gasp* — agree with:

On Wednesday, Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., requested a Government Accountability Office investigation and a hearing before the House Resources Committee into the allegations of mismanagement and the Interior Department’s reversal of Hall’s decision to end the agreement with the tribes.

”The people of Montana and the employees at the bison range, both tribal and nontribal, deserve a full, fair and impartial investigation into not only FWS’s allegations of mismanagement but also DOI’s own actions related to the bison range,” Rehberg wrote in requesting the investigations.

The GAO does excellent work, and I back Rehberg’s call for an investigation.

If federal employees were derailing the transfer because of territorial ambitions, heads should roll. If tribal members were as bad as described, they should not have control of the range.

Reading of Chrysalis tonight at Fact & Fiction in Missoula

February 2, 2007 in Literature, Missoula

by Jay Stevens 

I’m back, but busy as hell, just enough time to promote Kim’s reading tonight at Fact & Fiction in downtown Missoula, and also to point out some great media attention she’s been getting.

Here in Montana, Jason Wiener profiled Kim and her book, Chrysalis, for the Missoula Independent. On how she came up with the idea for the book:

“I was at Rockin Rudy’s,” says Todd, who holds a master’s degree in environmental studies and an MFA in creative writing from UM. “[I was] just wandering around, and picked up a notecard that had [Merian’s] illustration on the front of it. It was incredibly beautiful but also had this scientific sense to it…not just a butterfly on a leaf but all the life stages of the butterfly, the leaves all chewed up and very beautiful in their own way. Then when I turned it over and saw that it was a woman painting so long ago—and in South America. It just seemed like there was a story there.”

This past weekend, Kim was interviewed for a San Francisco talk show called “Forum” with Michael Krasny – a Bay Area radio staple. Fortunately the show was archived, so take a listen.

The reading tonight is at the bookstore, Fact & Fiction, on Higgins in downtown Missoula, at 7:00pm.