| Yellowstone Bison Slaughter
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| News
Article 1/25/04 |
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| Tribes
given voice on brucellosis committee
By JEFF GEARINO
Southwest Wyoming bureau
Star Tribune, Casper, Wyoming
1/25/04
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GREEN
RIVER -- Native Americans will get a seat on
the Greater Yellowstone Interagency Brucellosis Committee
(GYIBC) as a non-voting member, officials decided at a
recent committee meeting.
Members of the GYIBC formally endorsed a proposal to have
Native American representation on the GYIBC's executive
committee during a meeting Jan. 14 in Bozeman. The group
decided to begin work on a memorandum of understanding
to formalize the proposal.
Wyoming Game and Fish Department Public Information Specialist
Mark Gocke said while the executive committee voiced support
for the idea, there are still some details to be worked
out, such as who would represent the tribes and the specific
wording of the memorandum.
Last September, the Inter-Tribal Bison Cooperative, which
represents 52 tribal governments, asked the executive
committee to consider Native American representation on
the committee.
The GYIBC's membership is currently composed of representatives
from 13 state and federal organizations, including the
Game and Fish, that provide funding and personnel for
the group.
GYIBC officials believe the numerous tribes surrounding
Yellowstone will be crucial to the implementation of management
measures outlined in a strategic plan to eradicate the
disease. The strategic plan calls for the committee to
prepare Herd Unit Management plans for 25 elk herds and
two bison herds living around the park.
The GYIBC has set a goal of eliminating brucellosis from
the Greater Yellowstone Area by the year 2010.
Many bison and elk in Yellowstone National Park are believed
to be infected with the disease, which can cause cattle
to abort their first calves and in rare instances cause
undulant fever in humans.
A GYIBC subcommittee studying the tribes' proposal reported
unanimous support for the idea of tribal representation
and recommended Native Americans be added on the executive
committee as a non-voting member, Gocke said in a prepared
statement.
Gocke said the non-voting status was recommended since
the tribes do not possess management authority with regard
to land, livestock or wildlife in the Greater Yellowstone
Area .
"The tribes expressed their desire to be a voting
member, but agreed the (non-voting) proposal was reasonable,"
Gocke said.
The next meeting of the GYIBC is tentatively scheduled
for May in Pinedale.
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