Sun Bear 5 - Managing The Bison

Yellowstone National Park is the only remaining home for truly
wild,genetically pure bison with an unbroken connection to their
native habitat. When the buffalo slaughter of the late 1800s
ended, only 23 bison remained in the wild,and Yellowstone was
their sanctuary. Numbering 4,700 today,Yellowstone's herd has irreplaceable biollgical.cultural,spiritual,and historical value.
Sadly, today we are experiencing a second bison slaughter in
America.Just two winters ago, over 900 migrating bison were stopped at the park's border and shipped to slaughter. This is a national travesty and an embarrassment to the National Park System. NPCA is working to end the annual slaughter through increasing the amount of winter habitat available to them outside Yellowstone. Bison can carry a bovine disease called brucellosis, which poses little risk to them,but can cause cattle to abort. Although there has never been a recorded transmission of brucellosis from wild bison to cattle, the State of Montana claims that bison with brucellosis pose a threat to its cattle. For this reason bison, unlike other wildlife,are not allowed to enter Montana. During the winter and early spring months, when bison exit Yellowstone's boundaries in search of food, the Montana Department of Livestock routinely captures them and sends them to slaughter. Nearly 3,000 have been slaughtered over the past decade,leaving only an estimated 2,300 surviving!
. At the northwest corner in the Horse Butte outside of Yellowstone there are no cattle grazing in the area, isolated from neighboring grazing lands by wide arms of Hebgen Lake,which constitute an effective barrier for preventing any bison-cattle contact. Add to this the fact that many landowners in the Horse Butte area now welcome the bison, and the rancher's arguments become increasingly irrational. About 135 bison were grazing in the area last week, and state officials planned on hazing the bison back toward the park with helicopters to avoid trespassing on land owned by sympathizers.Montana livestock growers deserve to be protected from the threat of wildlife-borne brucellosis.But the real threat comes from elk, not bison. Elk were the suspects in a brucellosis outbreak in a cattle herd near Bridger last year.As winter blanklets Yellowstone National Park, bison and other wildlife begin their ancient migrations out of the snowy high country to the surrounding valleys, se!
eking food for survival.In 2008, this annual migration has once again
led to needless conflict. While elk, moose, and other wildlife pass freely between Yellowstone and the surrounding area, bison are captured and shipped to slaughter by the thouaands or hazed back into Yellowstone's unforgiving high country to face starvation.Separation of Bison and Cattle-Where cattle operations exist, separation from bison is essential.The solution? Make sure bison and cattle aren't in the same place at the same time. Five practical ways are:
1. Use creative fencing and cost-sharing solutions to keep livestock and bison from co-mingling;
2. Alter when cattle are grazing in certain areas;
3. Retire grazing allotments in bison habitat when possible and appropriate;
4. Purchase grazing rights,easements, and land from willing sellers in critical habitat areas.
In other areas the solution is divide the bison with the Native American Indians. In 1924, 14 bison were taken to Catalina Island to make a silent film.By 1980 the herd had grown to 600-- too many to maintain a healthy herd. Over the years some were shipped to auction. So a different solution was to give to the Rosebud Lakota Tribe--keep 150 on Catalina Island and the rest to the Lakota Tribe. The Native American Bison Tranport took the bison from Catalina Island to South Dakota.