Lawsuit: End Killing of Yellowstone Bison

Environmental and Native American Groups Ask Judge to End Slaughter of Bison that Wander beyond Park Boundaries

(AP)  A coalition of environmental and Native American groups sued two federal agencies Monday to stop the mass slaughter of bison that migrate outside Yellowstone National Park in search of food.

During the last decade, federal agencies working with the state of Montana captured and shipped to slaughter more than 3,300 bison to prevent the spread of an animal disease to cattle.

Critics of that program have tried — unsuccessfully — to stop the practice through lobbying of government agencies and appeals to Congress.

Now they're asking a U.S. District Court judge to intervene. The lawsuit filed Monday would bar the National Park Service and Forest Service from participation in the slaughter program.

The plaintiffs contend the two federal agencies have become beholden to the cattle industry and are ignoring their wildlife conservation mission. They also say the threat of the disease, brucellosis, has been overstated.

"It's crazy for me to think that in a state like Montana, where we are rich in wildlife and wildlands, that we don't have room for bison," said Tom Woodbury with the Western Watersheds Project.

Woodbury's group is one of nine plaintiffs in the case, which will likely be heard by Judge Donald Molloy in Missoula.

Bison once roamed North America by the millions before being largely wiped out in the late 1800s. Yellowstone's 3,000 bison comprise one of the largest concentrations of the animals remaining in the world.

About half those animals test positive for exposure to brucellosis, a reproductive disease that causes pregnant animals including cattle to abort their young.

During severe winters and when bison numbers are high, thousands of bison attempt to migrate to feeding grounds outside Yellowstone. But under a 2000 agreement between Montana and the federal government, the animals can be killed to prevent any contact with cattle.

In 2008, more than 1,400 bison were captured and shipped to slaughter under that policy, cutting the park's population by more than a third.

Soon after, the Government Accountability Office released a scathing report admonishing Montana and federal agencies for failing to preserve Yellowstone's bison.

As a result, government agencies promised to be more flexible. They allowed bison to leave the park for some areas where cattle no longer graze. And a migration corridor was leased through a private ranch adjacent to Yellowstone to let at least 25 bison access Forest Service land outside the park.

Representatives of the cattle industry fought both moves.

Forest Service spokeswoman Marna Daley said the agencies were "looking for opportunities for bison to move outside of Yellowstone National Park without increasing the risk of the spread of brucellosis."

However, she acknowledged the process had moved slowly, and said the agencies were forced to take "baby steps" due to pressure from both sides on the issue.

Bison control used to be carried out largely by the Montana Department of Livestock. Under the 2000 agreement, management of the animals has been coordinated by a group of five federal and state agencies, including the Forest and Park services.

What additional steps might be taken by those agencies is unclear. Yellowstone spokesman Al Nash said the park is committed to a study looking at the potential for vaccinating bison against brucellosis, but could not offer a timeline.

The groups behind Monday's lawsuit dismissed steps taken to date as bureaucratic dithering.

"They are slaughtering these animals indiscriminately. We might be seeing the slow extinction of the American bison," said Stephany Seay with the Buffalo Field Campaign, another plaintiff in the case.

Brucellosis first came into the Yellowstone region through the cattle of European settlers. It has since been eliminated in the livestock industry and is found only in Yellowstone's wildlife.

Elk also carry brucellosis and are considered the likely culprits in at least seven transmissions to cattle over the last decade.

However, the Yellowstone region's estimated 100,000 elk are not subject to a slaughter policy. That's largely because they are more difficult to track and are found over a far wider range.

[thegrouch98]

We as a nation have ravaged our natural resources for centuries. The American Bison is an endangered last vestige of a huge population that once roamed our great Nation. To stand by and watch as self angrandizing Ranchers and Politicians who cater to the affluent stand by and relinquish their positions is criminal. We must allow these grand animals sufficient latitude within their natural grazing area to exist and prosper. To stand tall among the beauty of this vast land and watch the native population of American Bison thrive is a thing of great beauty. Please support this great cause.

[maiingan]

It's the alien cattle that should be killed. Those cattle allowed to roam around near Yellowstone ain't no dairy cows. It's a fact that Americans DO eat bison meat and use bison by-products such as leather and hair (yes, it's made into very nice knitted items). Everything that is now obtained from beef cattle is and can be obtained from American Bison. The effort to kill bison that travel out of Yellowstone according to their natural good sense comes from a continuing desire to commit genocide against the native peoples - if not directly, then by proxy, using biological imperialism.

[lmartink]

Do away with the ranchers. I suggest turning them into an extinct species.

[RollingMountain]

The suit is about habitat, and habitat is denied to wild bison a native species on our National Forests and allocated to cattle that are trucked in to graze a few months out of the year. Yellowstone National Park should be ashamed of its role in capturing wild bison in pens inside Yellowstone National Park for shipment to slaughter houses. I've seen it happen over and over and over with no end in sight. Thousands of wild bison killed by an agency whose mission is to ensure the Park's resources and wildlife is left unimpaired for future generations. It's about habitat, bison habitat, and what kind of legacy we as Americans are willing to fight for and leave for the last wild bison to roam in their native range. Check it out: http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/habitat.html

[Sloughfoot]

If you have seen it over and over with no end in sight then the Bison must be a renwable resource and are not being threatened by current policey. That is what managing the natural resources on our public lands is all about. I would rather see the buffalo hunted, as well as the Elk to maintain a population that is in harmony with the carrying capacity (you might want to look this term up) of the land.