| Yellowstone Bison Slaughter
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| News
Article 4/13/06 |
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| Governor
presents bison plan to West Yellowstone landowners
By Ted Sullivan, Bozeman Daily Chronicle
4/13/06 |
WEST YELLOWSTONE - Landowners here expressed
skepticism Wednesday about Gov. Brian Schweitzer's bison-management
plan.
They told the Democratic governor that the problem with
bison leaving Yellowstone National Park and wandering
out into the state's cattle fields belongs to the park,
and the solution ought to be coming from federal officials.
"We're dealing with a federal problem," landowner
Ray Stinnett said. "We're the solution to what the
United States should be handling."
But federal officials aren't taking responsibility, Schweitzer
said.
Instead, he has proposed the state pay Montana ranchers
to remove their cattle from grazing grounds in the West
Yellowstone area and the Gardiner basin.
In addition, he wants a bigger bison hunt to reduce the
bison herd to a manageable size.
The combination would save the state money it now spends
hazing and slaughtering bison, as well as help preserve
Montana's brucellosis-free status, Schweitzer told the
small group of landowners who gathered to meet him at
the Holiday Inn.
"It doesn't make any sense to haul (the bison) up
and bring them to slaughter," Schweitzer told the
ranchers as they sat around a large conference table.
"We're putting the entire cattle industry at risk,"
he said. "I think we can do it better, and I think
we can do it cheaper."
Landowners said they appreciated Schweitzer's visit and
his willingness to hear their opinions on bison issues,
but they had their doubts about his plan.
Mike Manship, owner of Red Creek Ranch on Hebgen Lake,
told Schweitzer bison should be placed into their natural
environment in eastern Montana, or at the very least,
moved to public land somewhere else.
But Schweitzer countered that, "Through a hunt, we
can control that population on this end. We can get that
down to a manageable number. A lot of people want to shoot
these bison."
How many bison could be killed in a hunting season, a
landowner asked Schweitzer.
"Well, we hauled 1,000 to slaughter this year,"
Schweitzer responded. "That doesn't make any sense."
Asked whether a bison hunt could create a tourist boycott
and bad press from national media, Schweitzer said people
will still come to Montana.
"If people were going to be angry with us, then they
would have been angry with us this year when we sent 1,000
of them to slaughter," he said.
But a bison hunt near West Yellowstone could lead to trespassing,
property damage and dead bison remains left on private
property, Manship said.
Manship then asked the governor what he should do when
bison are in his front yard.
Schweitzer told him he could call an agency to remove
them.
"I've heard that one before," Manship responded.
Despite a few differences of opinion, the landowners and
Schweitzer agreed something must be done before bison
spread brucellosis to Montana's cattle, ruining the state's
beef industry and brucellosis-free status, they said.
"We're going to lose our brucellosis-free status;
it's just a matter of time," Schweitzer said. "We
have a mixing zone."
Schweitzer's proposal is a 10-year plan, he said. Meanwhile,
scientists, park managers and government agencies could
work on other options for the future.
"We're open for discussion," Schweitzer told
the landowners. "We just want to lay some stuff on
the table."
As Schweitzer left the conference room to take a short
helicopter trip to Gardiner, where he also planned to
meet with area ranchers, he told the landowners he would
be back again.
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