BOZEMAN, Montana, July 9, 2004 (ENS) – Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is planning to let members of the public kill Yellowstone bison that move outside the national park boundaries. The Yellowstone bison are the last genetically pure wild remnants of the millions of bison that once roamed the American plains.
The state agency has produced an environmental assessment that evaluates the proposed bison hunt. The 30 day public comment period on the hunt closed Thursday.
The 2003 Montana Legislature approved a bill that provides for a public hunt of the bison in southwestern Montana. The Yellowstone bison are controlled by a federal-state management program to keep them from passing the abortive disease brucellosis to Montana cattle, although no such transmission has ever been documented.
State and federal agencies now haze and kill the bison, male and female alike, although only females can transmit brucellosis.
"Public responses to our scoping document issued in February were evenly divided between respondents in favor of hunting, and those opposing hunting," said Kurt Alt, regional wildlife manager.
"At this point we would like to gather the public's opinions of the four alternatives contained in the environmental assessment." The four alternatives include a no hunting alternative, and three other alternatives, all approving the hunt, that vary only in location, hunt periods, and number of permits.
The agency's preferred alternative is hunting in the late fall to early winter season November 15 to February 15, limited entry hunt with permits valid for the entire season, and hunting open in areas in which bison presence does not trigger agency management actions.
Bison from the Yellowstone herd were legally hunted in Montana in the early 1950s and late 1980s, the agency says.
In its environmental assessment, the agency dismissed many objections to the hunt. "Concerns about the impact of a limited hunt on YNP bison numbers, population viability, and genetic makeup were determined to be unjustified because of the low number of bison that would be harvested in a limited hunt. Questions about the ethics and humaneness of killing bison were judged to be best answered by individuals based on personal moral and behavioral codes," the agency said.
Respondents favoring hunting wanted to avoid the negative publicity that occurred during the bison hunts held in the 1980s, the agency explained. Their suggestions included opening as much land as possible to hunting to avoid concentrating hunters, and avoiding "firing line" situations on the ellowstone National Park boundaries.
Hunt proponents favored launching public relations or educational campaigns to give the public a more balanced view of the role of hunting in bison management, requiring hunters to demonstrate competence, limiting hunter numbers and providing long seasons to avoid concentrating hunters, and strict enforcement of laws related to hunting, harassment of hunters, and trespass on private property.
Opponents of hunting threatened an economic boycott of the state if hunting is allowed, protested use of tax money for hunting, and predicted that a bison hunt would lose money for the state.
The Buffalo Field Campaign, which puts activists on the ground to protect the bison, says that before a hunt is considered, "wild buffalo must be given the respect of being considered a recovered resident native wildlife species in Montana, where they are currently "managed" aggressively by the Department of Livestock as a 'nuisance animal in need of disease control.'" Tribal consultation should be sought and treaty rights upheld before any hunt is considered, the Buffalo Field Campaign says.
Proponents of hunting noted that Wyoming receives $2 for each dollar it spends on bison hunting, that Montana could generate funds for wildlife management with a similar hunt structure, and that hunting is a major economic boost to many small towns in Montana.
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The environmental assessment is online at:
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