MONTANA NATIONAL BISON RANGE AND HERD.—The range is in western Montana, along the Northern Pacific Railroad between Ravalli and Dixon. The tract set apart for the home of the herd con tains approximately 20,000 acres, with both grazing land and timber. In the centre is a mountain about 2,500 feet high, with grassy slopes and wooded ridges. On the north side of the range several miles of Post Creek are included. On the south side the range takes in about a mile of the Jocko River. In the in terior are several large springs. The place is ideal for buffalo. It is estimated the food sup ply is sufficient for a herd of from 1,500 to 2,500 animals. The range was selected by Prof. M. J. Elrod, of the University of Montana, for the American Bison Society, with W. T. Horn aday, then president. In 1908 Senator Dixon of Montana introduced in Congress a bill to provide for the purchase of the range and for fencing. This became a law in May 1908. The
American Bison Society raised a fund of $10,560 for the purchase of bison for the range. 'Thirty-seven animals made the nucleus of the present herd, about 300 (spring of 1919). In addition, elk, antelope and white-tailed deer have been added since, and are doing well. The selection of the range was a part of the plan of the American Bison Society to save the bison from extinction. Mr. Hornaday ex pressed the opinion that this herd alone, one of several now in the United States, is sufficient to save the species from becoming extinct. The location is ideal, the surface is sufficiently undu lating to afford protection from storms from any direction, there is abundance of bunch grass, it is easy of access and the animals sub sist summer and winter upon the vegetation of the range. Consult Report of the American Bison Society (1908) and subsequent reports.