Ted's Herd

If you've ever wanted an invitation onto Ted Turner's famous Green Ranch, along the Madison River west of Bozeman, dress as a buffalo and you just might get in. After all, two days after Valentine's Day, the Montana Department of Livestock and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks struck a deal with Turner Enterprises, Inc. to bring 88 of Yellowstone's finest over to Turner's 12,000-acre place for an extended stay. These 88 buffalo make up somewhat of a misfit crowd: they were part of the controversial state-federal Quarantine Feasibility Study designed to halt the spread of brucellosis. After five years the bison go back to the state but Turner gets to keep 75% of the offspring. It's a drop in Turner's bison herd; about 50,000 bison live on the 15 ranches he owns in seven states.