"The shaggy offspring of the United States' only wild, purebred herd of bison are pitting Montana conservationists, federal wildlife managers, ranchers and Native American tribes against each other.

Montana Governor Steve Bullock is due to decide soon whether bison from Yellowstone National Park will be allowed to roam the state outside certain tribal lands, where their recent return was seen as a long-awaited homecoming.

The saga centers on a push by environmental activists and Native Americans to increase the numbers of the iconic beasts, which were once almost wiped out, against opposition from livestock owners who fear disease and say recent bison deaths on tribal lands may have been caused by mismanagement."

Laura Zuckerman reports for Reuters December 1, 2015. [2]