Oh, give them a home

and the buffalo'll roam...

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Saturday will turn loose 16 bison from the National Bison Range in northwestern Montana on about 1,400 acres of the 17,000-acre Rocky Mountain Arsenal, once a Superfund site.

We gave a heads-up on this awhile ago.

The agency, which is managing the land in Commerce City as a national wildlife refuge, might relocate more bison if the first herd settles in and thrives.

The bison will be driven Friday from Montana to the arsenal. This'll be the agency's first bison refuge created in a major metro area. The bison are wild and are considered genetically important because there has been little or no cross breeding with domestic cattle.

Cleanup of the entire site is expected to be finished in 2011. The Army is transferring management of the land to Fish and Wildlife as cleanup is completed. The site already is home to about 330 wildlife species, including deer and bald eagles.

These bison won't be able to roam at will. If they venture far enough, they'll come to a 7-foot-tall, high-tensile wire fence, buffers and two more fences.