| Yellowstone Bison Slaughter
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Article 12/23/08 |
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LTE:
Little long-term hope for bison under DOL purview
Bozeman Daily Chronicle
12/23/08
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Little
long-term hope for bison under DOL purview Gov. Schweitzer
has described the Royal Teton Ranch deal with the Church
as an "expansion valve" for bison - an alternative
to confining and feeding the animals (allowing further
herd increase) and/or sending them to slaughter. In fact,
only 25 to maybe 100 bison may be hazed across the narrow
RTR corridor each year. If the RTR agreement were in place
last year, "only" 1,409 bison would have been
slaughtered, rather than 1,434. The $3.3 million RTR agreement
will not end the slaughter of bison.
The Greater Yellowstone Coalition, National Parks Conservation
Association and Montana Wildlife Federation described
the RTR deal as a small step forward. Forward toward what
end? When does the public get to see a realistic long-range
plan?
Yellowstone Park needs about 4,000 bison for a "genetically-viable"
population. If the annual population growth is 10 percent,
an average of 400 bison must be removed yearly to maintain
the herd at 4,000. In mild winters few bison leave the
park; thus more than 400 must be removed in a subsequent
year. If bison are allowed year-round on any areas outside
the park, the base population will be larger and the required
annual take will increase. How, where, and at what season
will these bison be removed from the herd?
It is the responsibility of Montana, not the Park Service,
to plan the future of wild bison in our state. Our Legislature
mandates the Department of Livestock with authority over
wild bison in the Yellowstone area. I see little hope
for a long-range bison management plan under DOL. We will
continue slaughtering bison near the park boundary. It
is time to return authority for bison management to Fish,
Wildlife and Parks where it belongs. Then it will be time
for leadership in the management and conservation of wild
bison in Montana.
Jim Bailey
Belgrade
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