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ACHO DENE KOE/FORT SIMPSON - What's the best way to keep an 800-kg animal out of places it's not wanted?

The question of how to deal with the bison that wander into Fort Liard created some heated debate during a meeting in the hamlet.

On May 14, staff with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (ENR) held a consultation meeting on the draft Wood Bison Management Strategy for the NWT.

The purpose of the strategy is to provide long-term vision and guidance on the recovery of wood bison in the territory. Approximately 10 minutes into presentation Al Harris interrupted the staff.

"None of us were there for that reason," said Harris, a long-term hamlet resident.

"We were all there for one reason and that was keep the buffalo out of the community."

Harris raised two of the most frequently cited concerns about bison in the hamlet. Firstly, the animals pose a real danger to human life, said Harris.

His worst case scenario involves the possibility of a young child playing in a backyard and accidentally startling a bison, leading to a serious or fatal injury.

"Every year we do end up with kids being chased down the road by buffalo," he said.

The second ongoing concern is the property damage that bison cause to trees, gardens, lawns and vehicles.

"We're all getting damage to our property over and over every year," said Harris, who has seen bison destroy more than 100 trees he planted on his property.

The government reintroduced the bison so they should be responsible for controlling them, he said.

Although the meeting took an unscheduled turn, listening to the residents' issues and discussing how to address them is part of the Wood Bison Management Strategy, said Nic Larter, the regional biologist for ENR.

The fact that between 10 and 15 people came to the meeting, the best attendance Larter has ever seen, showed that issues related to the bison are important to the community, he said.

"We sure found out what certain members don't want," said Stephen Charlie, the regional superintendent for the department.

Residents don't want bison inside of the community, Charlie said. Part of the management strategy is reducing bison-human conflict.

A few options were discussed during the meeting.

Strategically placed electric fences are one option. Department staff are mapping the trails and wallows the animals use in and around Fort Liard.

Fences could be used to deflect the animals away from trails that lead into the hamlet and onto trails that skirt it, Larter said.

Fences could also be used in the hamlet to protect certain areas or gardens. Once the animals learn to associate the fences with shocks and avoid them, the charges could be turned off.

"We want to retrain them to be good bison most of the time," Charlie said.

Although the idea of constructing one large fence around the community was raised, it's not practical, said Charlie.

The riverbank couldn't be fenced so the bison would still have a way in.

Hazing is another option with proven results. This would involve training a group of residents on how to use quads to move bison out of the community.

With repetition bison can recognize certain quads and vehicles and immediately start to move because they know what's coming, Charlie said.

Having a group of residents to do this would be ideal because the department's staff often have other matters to attend to, the superintendent said.

Strategies like the deflector electric fences and hazing teams will be implemented as soon as possible if the department's heads give their permission.

Harris was hoping for more extensive options Residents always seem to get the same answers from ENR but they want to hear something different, the hamlet resident said.

John Gonet, another resident who attended the meeting, was skeptical that anything will change.

"It goes in one ear and out the other," Gonet said about comments made to ENR.

Fort Liard has had to deal with bison since they were reintroduced in 1980, he said.

"It's been going on too damn long," Gonet said.

Bison shouldn't be in the hamlet and it will probably take an accident before anything changes, said Gonet.