| BFC Buffalo Field Campaign
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| Voices
from the Community |
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Change
of heart
David Warner, West Yellowstone News
6/01/07 |
Officials
of the agencies charged with managing Yellowstone Park bison
agreed to a temporary halt in implementing a plan to kill all
the bison, including recently born calves, on the wrong side
of the Park's western boundary.
Instead the Montana State Department of Livestock will undertake
one last hazing operation, with the hope of driving the migrating
animals five miles into the Park, and with the hope that they
stay there.
Animals that again cross the boundary, as they have so often
this spring, will be captured and killed.
The change of plan occurred shortly after news reports brought
the details of the original operation to the public's attention.
Montana State Department of Livestock personnel began erecting
their bison "capture facility" on Tuesday. It was
the same facility, or trap, that for years was put up on the
west side of Horse Butte, near the lake shore, under the fire
lookout tower.
This year, however, the green, metal, corral-like structure
has been set up at an old gravel pit, just north of the Yellowstone
Airport.
Also on Tuesday, according to Mike Meese of the West Yellowstone
based Buffalo Field Campaign, Al Nash, the Park's public affairs
director, informed him that the actual roundup and corralling
of bison would begin on Thursday morning.
On Wednesday the story blazed across the front page of the Bozeman
Chronicle: "State to capture, kill 300 park bison."
Even more emotionally charged was a smaller headline indicating
that included in the 300 were approximately 80 calves that would
be "killed and disposed of."
The 300 animals are currently outside Yellowstone Park, most
of them grazing on their long favored spring pasture land on
Horse Butte. The joint state-federal bison management plan requires
that all bison in this area be inside the park by May 15. The
various agencies and departments involved in implementing the
management plan have undertaken a number of large-scale hazing
operations in recent weeks.
The hazers have had little success.
Consequently, State Veterinarian Jeanne Rankin recommended to
the Montana Board of Livestock that all bison outside the park's
western boundary be trapped and sent to slaughter, and the board
agreed to the recommendation.
As the Chronicle article noted, "The bison herd outside
the park contains about 80 calves between 1 and weeks old. They
can't survive without their mothers at that age, and slaughter
houses aren't interested in handling them. . . "
The Chronicle reporter also contacted Board of Livestock chairman
William Hedstrom who urged people to look at the bison, "not
as an icon, or as baby calves, but we have to look at it as
a disease. If we're going to manage the disease in that area
this seems to be our option."
Prior to the change in plans Rankin had said that cattle owners
were expected to bring cattle to this area in about two weeks.
She also said that extra attention was being paid to bison this
year because brucellosis had been found in a cattle herd near
Bridger, Mont., recently.
Ironically, the story was likely to have been playing out just
as the West Yellowstone Economic Development Committee kicked
of its highly publicized, tourism enhancing, Painted Buffalo
Roam" project on Saturday. Now it seems more likely that
any capturing of bison will not be occurring for at least another
week.
Clyde Seely, the director of the Painted Buffalo, was asked
to comment on the unfolding events. "Of course we don't
like to see the bison being killed." he replied.
"But it's imperative that the buffalo be kept within the
confines of the park during certain parts of the year.
"As a former cattle guy (Seely grew up on a farm near Ashton,
Idaho) I firmly believe that we can't risk losing Montana's
brucellosis-free status. The people in charge have to do what
they have to do."
Mike Meese, of the Buffalo Field Campaign, said the group was
planning to erect a sign on Highway191 directing travelers to
a "Wildlife (bison) Viewing area. The "area"
is an overlook above the DOL's capture facility, less than a
quarter mile from Highway 191, and reached by a single lane
gravel road.
The BFC is also trying to bring the operation to the attention
of as many media sources as possible, Meese said , as well as
keeping politicians informed. Meese also indicated that some
members of the BFC may have individual acts of protest planned.
Rob Tierney, a spokesman for the DOL, said that the agency was
undecided about how the calves were be killed. He added that
the method getting the most consideration was lethal injection.
"We don't like this at all," Tierney said. "We're
just as unhappy with the situation as anybody." |
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