| Yellowstone Bison Slaughter
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| News
Article 3/10/04 |
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Church
needs to live up to bison range commitments
by Marlene Renwyck
Op Ed- Bozeman Daily Chronicle
March 10, 2004
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Sadly
enough, it's the annual Yellowstone park buffalo slaughter,
sponsored by our own taxpayer's dollars. Last week, outside
Gardiner, some 145 buffalo were killed with even more
awaiting their fate inside the park's capture facility.
Such a harsh punishment must speak to a harsh crime, eh?
The 145 buffalo were within park boundaries when captured
and killed - their only crime being that they were too
close to the boundary. Such harsh punishment exists because
across that imaginary line lies land belonging to the
Church Universal and Triumphant where 180 head of cattle
graze, the only cows on that side of the river next to
the park. These inhospitable neighbors continue to punish
our nation's last wild buffalo by grazing cattle in habitat
that year after year is needed by buffalo for winter forage.
Come to find out that several years ago, the federal government
(read taxpayer's dollars) in conjunction with the Rocky
Mountain Elk Foundation paid CUT $13 million to purchase
CUT lands adjacent to the park. The sole purpose was to
provide wildlife habitat. Most of the acreage purchased
lies on hillsides above the valley floor, making it not
well suited for buffalo. Recognizing this, the land deal
included a lateral agreement with CUT whereby they would
put valley floor acreage into a conservation easement
and allow buffalo to roam outside the park boundaries
onto part of their lands. Thirteen million dollars later
and it still hasn't happened.
It's time for CUT to hold up their end of the deal. Buffalo
are being killed before they even step out of the park.
Please join me in calling upon CUT to become better neighbors,
to retire their cattle to another area and to allow Yellowstone's
buffalo to live out their natural lives.
Marlene Renwyck
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