Jack Danylchuk
Northern News Services

Fort Resolution (Nov 14/05) - The 130 surviving animals in the Hook Lake Bison Recovery project will live out the winter at Fort Resolution, but it still isn't clear whether Ottawa or the territorial government will pay for their feed.

Resources Minister Michael Miltenberger remains hopeful that federal Environment minister Stephane Dion will pick up the program, despite the official silence from Ottawa.

"I understand that the minister is going to sign a letter and honour their commitment, but we have yet to see what that means," Miltenberger said recently.

The territorial government paid more than $3 million over the past decade to develop a disease-free herd at Fort Resolution. Last spring, one animal tested positive for tuberculosis. Nine animals were destroyed and Miltenberger said the NWT would not carry the program for another year.

The federal government had until Oct. 31 to agree to pay $500,000 to move the animals to a new pasture and $300,000 a year for feed and management.

"If it goes sideways, we'll carry out our original plan to eliminate the herd," he said.

If the herd is to be destroyed, it will take until spring to wind up the program. Until then, the territorial government will "have to eat the cost," he said. The recovery project was financed this year by "taking the money from other pots," Miltenberger said.

If Ottawa doesn't come in, "we're not in the game anymore. We're through, we're finished," he said.

Beginning early next year, the herd would be rounded up and trucked to slaughter houses in the south for slaughter and testing.

"There is still time before we start calling the freightliners," Miltenberger said.

"I'm still confident the minister's word is going to be honoured in the next little while," he said. "If I get the sense we're being slagged off, we've already started pulling the trigger. They will be gone before spring."