Ranchers, Businessman Settle Wayward Bison Lawsuit
by Associated Press
December 13, 2012 8:09 AM
A lawsuit between three ranchers and a Florida millionaire businessman over alleged damage caused by wayward bison from property straddling the North Dakota-South Dakota border has been settled.
Attorneys declined to disclose details of the settlement. A trial had been scheduled for this week.
Bachmeier Farms, Nick Vollmuth and Gary Sandland alleged that Maurice Wilder's Wilder Ranch bison had been trespassing on their land for years and damaging pasture, crops, hay and fences.
Wilder's ranch encompasses about 35,000 acres, sprawling from Selfridge, N.D., to McLaughlin, S.D. For years it sparked complaints about bison running loose and causing problems for neighbors.
Authorities in February 2011 rounded up thousands of Wilder's bison after reports of starving animals. He took 850 bison to auction the next month.
