Banff has Wolves, Grizzlies and Pumas,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,time to restore the iconic Bison to the Park as planned with an intial "planting" of 30 to 50 animals with a target of 600-1000 Bison over the decades ahead...............The usual Rancher "howls" over Bison spreading Brucellosis disease to cattle has surfaced as an objection to the bison returning to Branff but it has been shown time and time again that wild Elk are as apt as any creature to spread this disease versus that coming from Bison.............Of course, never a utterance from the Ranching community on this as they would never want to give up their "sacred right" to hunting Elk............Bring on the full historical circle of life in Branff with the Bison returning to do their "dances with wolves"

https://www.google.com/url?rct=j&sa=t&url=http://www.dailyastorian.com/winter-wolf-harvests-in-n-rockies-trailing-prior-season-da-ap-webfeeds-news-northwesta2c3e602362c46f8be5dd35502451031&ct=ga&cd=CAEYAyoTOTg1MzI0ODQ0NzcxODc3Nzk0MTIaZGE5N2NmOTQ3ODA0Njk5YTpjb206ZW46VVM&usg=AFQjCNGXWvffkUpAzqzthisEGI0B3A5KCw

Bison to return to Banff National Park

Bison at the  Bison Paddock by  

In February, a representative of 

“Those of us in the Alberta Fish and Game
 Association (24,000 members) are adamantly
 opposed to this going ahead.”

Dave McDonough, superintendent of Banff
 National Park, said they have spent the past
 18 months consulting with Albertans and
others who have a stake in the project.

“Most people were very supportive of the
 concept,” he said. “We did hear some
concerns and certainly respect those
concerns. They are valid points, with
 concerns about how would we prevent
 bison from escaping into the province,
 for example.

“We are amending our plan to ensure we
 take a phased and cautious approach to
ensure that we are comfortable with the
measures we have in place to prevent
bison from escaping outside of the park.”

McDonough said the changes will reflect
 some of the concerns when the final plan
 is announced in the near future.

Officials with the Fish and Game
Association have been told a federal
 announcement to dedicate funding for
the bison reintroduction will be held with
 Wild Rose MP Blake Richards at the
 Banff Park Museum on Friday afternoon.

McDonough wouldn’t talk about the
 event, but the Herald has confirmed
it with several sources.

Richards, whose riding includes Banff,
 expressed his support for the project
earlier this month when he
delivered 3,000 postcards to Ottawa
on behalf of Bison Belong — a local
group advocating for the return of
bison to the park.

“I was happy to present Minister
Aglukkaq with almost 3,000 postcards,”
 he said at the time. “I know there is a
 strong desire from locals, as well as
 our domestic and international
 visitors, to see bison reintroduced
 to Banff National Park.”

Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq, who’s responsible for national parks, receives 3,000 signed postcards delivered by MP Blake Richards on behalf of Bison Belong, a local group advocating for the return of bison to Banff National Park.

Courtesy: Blake Richards

A draft plan for the reintroduction of bison
 came out in the fall of 2013. It calls for 600
 to 1,000 bison as the target population,
 but recommended starting with a five-y
ear pilot project of 30 to 50 bison in the
 backcountry around the Panther and
Dormer rivers on the east-central side
of the park.

The proposal received more than 1,000
submissions from Canadians and people
 around the world during the public
comment phase.

Proponents of the plan say bringing
bison back to Banff will go a long way
to restoring the ecological integrity of
the park, while opponents — including
the provincial government — raised
the concerns about the bison making
 their way out of the park boundary.

“History has proven how disastrous
 it is to meddle with the environment
 and bison,” said Kure, noting the
 group’s concerns range from bison
 leaving the confines of the park to the
 cost of putting in fences to keep them
 in the park.

Fences were part of the draft
proposal, but it’s not known how
it will change in the final plan.

The cost for the project has not yet
 been revealed by Parks Canada
.