|
 The proposal, for which Yellowstone National Park officials have
begun seeking public comment, is almost sure to draw staunch
opposition from ranchers concerned about disease, competition for
grass and property destruction from straying bison.
Yellowstone is now home to more than 4,000 bison, or buffalo,
constituting the bulk of the country's last pure-bred population of
the animals.
Dozens from the Yellowstone herd have been relocated to two Montana
American Indian reservations in recent years. Park officials,
wildlife advocates and Native American groups are now eager to
restore wild bison to more of their native habitat.
A recent U.S. Interior Department report on bison concluded they
could potentially be reintroduced to swaths of public lands it
manages in states such as Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Nebraska
and South Dakota, without posing a risk to livestock.
The chief concern is brucellosis, an infection that causes
stillbirths in cows and may have been transmitted to roughly half
the bison in Yellowstone from exposure to cattle.
Park wildlife managers are eyeing a plan that would start by
quarantining dozens of bison for several years to prevent them from
contracting the disease. Those animals shown to be free of
brucellosis could then be considered for relocation to establish
controlled herds elsewhere, said David Hallac, chief of
Yellowstone's science and research branch.
The park is one year away from crafting a final proposal, which will
be shaped by the public comment period that opened on Wednesday and
closes in September, he said.
Quarantine facilities could be placed inside the park, which spans
parts of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho, just outside its borders, or on
lands owned by Native American tribes.
[to top of second column] |
Hallac said a program that would see new bands of bison with the
prized genetics of the Yellowstone herd established across the West
would mark a conservation milestone.
Millions of the powerful, hump-shouldered animals once roamed the
plains west of the Mississippi until systematic hunting drove their
numbers to the fewer than 50 that found refuge in Yellowstone in the
early 20th century.
But livestock industry representatives said even disease-free bison
could prove problematic to the landscape, since the outsized animals
would likely venture beyond fences or property lines and might
compete with cattle for forage.
“We have legitimate concerns about containment and damage to private
property and we need to address the impact on ranchers that graze on
federal lands,” said Jay Bodner, natural resource director for the
Montana Stockgrowers Association.
(Reporting by Laura Zuckerman from Salmon, Idaho; Editing by Steve
Gorman and Peter Cooney)
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
