BOZEMAN, Mont. (AP) -- Federal officials and representatives of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming gathered here to find ways of eliminating brucellosis from bison, elk and cattle while maintaining the livestock industry in areas surrounding Yellowstone National Park.
Their goal is to wipe out the contagious disease by 2010, but some said that date was too optimistic.

The Greater Yellowstone Interagency Brucellosis Committee's executive committee members said Wednesday the ultimate goal is to "protect and sustain the existing free-ranging elk and bison" in the Yellowstone area while protecting the "economic viability of the livestock industry."

Tom Thorne, a retired Wyoming Game and Fish Department wildlife veterinarian who still represents the agency on certain issues, said the 2010 date might not be realistic, but it still gives agency workers a deadline to aim for.

The date was set as a goal in TK by TK, but as long ago as 1998 the
Brucellosis is a disease that can cause cattle to abort and can cause chronic flu-like illness in humans.

Livestock officials contend bison can transmit the disease to cattle and, if that were to happen, the state could lose its brucellosis-free status. As a result of that fear, hundreds of bison that tested positive for brucellosis after they entered Montana from Yellowstone have been sent to slaughter. Many bison that leave the part have been killed without being tested because there are more bison in the park than is ideal according to management plans.
Glenn Plumb, supervisory wildlife biologist for Yellowstone, suggested one way to keep more bison from getting brucellosis might be to capture calves and yearlings about to leave Yellowstone's north entrance and vaccinate them against the disease.

If Yellowstone's top officials approve that plan, vaccinations at the Stevens Creek facility near Gardiner could begin this winter, Plumb said.

Officials also are discussing using a specially designed gun to vaccinate free-ranging bison from a distance.

Joe Gutkoski, secretary of the American Buffalo Foundation, suggested buffalo entering Montana should be managed by the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks. "Get the Department of Livestock out of it," he said.

Buffalo Field Campaign volunteer Joshua Osher also said the emphasis should be on the wild animals, not the livestock.

"This country should be protecting these bison and elk because they're irreplaceable," he said.
Will Patrik of Bozeman, coordinator of the Greater Yellowstone Wildlife Alliance, said brucellosis is only a problem if domestic livestock are present. He suggested the committee encourage private landowners outside Yellowstone's northern entrance to graze cattle elsewhere or to put up fences separating bison and cattle.

While committee members discussed options and listened to public comment, Buffalo Field Campaign volunteers gathered in downtown Bozeman for a rally and to proclaim that "wildlife should be left wild."

"Let the buffalo roam; stop the slaughter in Yellowstone," some of them chanted. "Brucellosis -- kill the myth, not the buffalo."

Others held banners or wore buffalo masks.

Some members of the group dropped a two-story-long banner adorned with drawings of a buffalo and elk from the roof of the Baxter Hotel. The banner stayed up until police arrived and asked that it be removed. It was and no one was arrested.

"This is a very special herd, a national treasure, that really needs to be protected," said Danny Bristen, who said he has spent seven winters monitoring bison in the West Yellowstone area.

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