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tri-annual meeting of the GYIBC was held in Pinedale, Wyoming
this week amidst a crowd of concerned Wyoming ranchers, members
of the Intertribal Bison Cooperative and a handful of wildlife
advocates. The GYIBC consists of representatives from Idaho,
Wyoming and Montana wildlife and livestock agencies and all
of the federal agencies involved with brucellosis issues in
the greater Yellowstone area (GYA). The meetings run for two
days beginning with reports from the technical subcommittee
and followed on the second day with the executive committee
meeting. In addition to the regular GYIBC agenda, a four-hour
panel “discussion” on Wyoming elk feedgrounds
concluded the second day of meetings.
Unfortunately, with each meeting of the GYIBC, the prospects
for the future of Yellowstone buffalo and the wildlife of
the GYA in general get more and more dire. The “lowlights”
of this weeks meetings included reports on the upcoming program
for large-scale vaccination of Yellowstone buffalo by the
Park Service and the Montana Department of Livestock and the
upcoming buffalo “hunt” in Montana. Also included
was a report on a project to quarantine Yellowstone buffalo
for at least four years with the goal of relocating them to
other public and tribal lands. Look for updates and public
comment information on the release of the various environmental
documents related to these attempts to further weaken and
mistreat Yellowstone buffalo. Your comments are essential
to building a framework for challenging these misguided plans.
There were, however, a few positive notes. For the past three
years, the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks
(FWP) and the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
(APHIS) have conducted studies on the persistence of brucellosis
bacteria on aborted fetuses and the rate of disappearance
for bison fetuses placed on the north and west sides of Yellowstone
National Park (YNP). While the studies themselves are highly
disturbing in their nature, the results point to a confirmation
of the fact that there is no possibility of brucellosis remaining
in the environment by late May. The implication of this finding
is the possibility of an immediate change to DOL’s policy
and practice of intensively hazing, capturing, or shooting
buffalo in the west boundary area throughout the year. The
fact is that no cattle are present on the west side of Yellowstone
until June. Simply put, the naturally occurring situation
of temporal and spatial separation between buffalo and cattle
precludes the need for the DOL’s expensive, cruel and
harsh treatment of Yellowstone buffalo when they enter Montana.
During the public comment portion of the meeting, the agency
representatives were encouraged to take into account these
new findings and “adapt” the Interagency Bison
Management Plan (IBMP) during their upcoming meetings to discuss
the status of the plan this June.
The GYIBC also took further steps toward incorporating tribal
representation on the committee. The committee agreed to add
language to their forming document designating the ITBC as
a non-voting member of the GYIBC. While the ITBC will have
little ability to influence the direction and policies of
the GYIBC, their inclusion on the committee will add a much-needed
voice for respect and proper treatment on America’s
last wild buffalo.
In February 2004, Wyoming’s brucellosis free status
was downgraded by APHIS due to the infection of a cattle herd
by nearby elk on a state sponsored feedground. This event
is of tremendous concern to Wyoming ranchers, outfitters,
hunters and wildlife advocates. The state of Wyoming operates
22 winter feeding sites for elk in the GYA. Feedgrounds unnaturally
congregate elk and promote the spread of disease amongst the
herds in addition to creating unsustainable numbers of elk
for the ecosystem given the constraints on natural winter
migration routes. Not only do elk feedgrounds cause high levels
of brucellosis exposure, but if chronic wasting disease (CWD)
arrives in the next few years, the resultant elk die-off will
be disastrous to the Wyoming economy and the future of all
wildlife in the GYA.
To address the concerns about Wyoming’s elk feedground
program and brucellosis, the GYIBC sponsored four hours of
presentations by a panel of wildlife officials from the GYA.
The primary understanding of the group and the audience is
that Wyoming’s situation is very complicated and solutions
will have to come from “out of the box”. However,
given the time constraints imposed by the upcoming emergence
of CWD to Wyoming feedgrounds, and the seeming reluctance
of state officials to take action, progress will likely be
slow and may end up being too little, too late.
One other interesting and potentially disturbing topic brought
up at the meeting is the goal of gaining internationally recognized
brucellosis free status for the United States. This status
is conferred by the OIE, a body that regulates commerce in
live animals for the World Trade Organization. The OIE certification
would likely require the total elimination of brucellosis
from Yellowstone wildlife. As wonderful a goal this might
seem to be, the reality is that brucellosis will never be
completely eliminated from the ecosystem and attempts to do
so will irreparably harm wildlife and could lead to the total
destruction of Yellowstone buffalo. The benefits of international
brucellosis free status in reduced costs for the tiny portion
of ranchers involved in cross border trade of live animals
is certainly not worth the risk of losing America’s
last wild buffalo now and forever.
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