Tribe’s bison herd is a matter of health

The Seattle Times has a story today about the Stillaguamish Tribe’s buffalo herd:

Rolls of wire lay like bales of hay on a pasture near Arlington where members of the Stillaguamish Tribe have been beefing up their fences to keep their bison calves from squeezing through again.

Shawn Yanity, the tribal chairman, made sure to keep a safe distance. The hardy beasts are undomesticated, he noted, and he was wary of agitating them.

“If they want to get through a fence, it doesn’t matter what you build,” he said. “They’ll go through.”

Tribal members just bought this herd of eight bison in April, so they’re still learning some of the do’s and don’ts.