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YELLOWSTONE PARK Buffalo supporters oppose preferred government option By JOE KOLMAN Gazette Bozeman Bureau BOZEMAN - Those interested in the management of Yellowstone National Park bison overwhelmingly oppose the government's preferred option, but show much support for an alternative favored by many environmental groups, according to documents released Tuesday.
More than 25,000 objections were registered to the plan supported by state and federal agencies that would limit the number of park bison to 2,500 with continued capture and slaughter. The plan also calls for acquisition of more winter range outside of the park and limited hunting of bison that wander outside Yellowstone's boundaries. In contrast, more than 47,000 comments voiced support for the "Citizen's Plan," which had the backing of the National Wildlife Federation, the Greater Yellowstone Coalition and others. Parts of that plan include: establishing an area outside the park where bison would be allowed to migrate, relocate live bison to Indian reservations or other public lands, vaccinate cattle near the park against brucellosis and provide incentives to ranchers to reduce contact between cattle and bison while providing winter forage for bison. The plan also supports vaccination of bison against brucellosis and limited hunting of bison. State and federal officials who drafted the environmental impact statement are now revising it to include and evaluate public comment. More than 67,000 letters were received during the comment period. Comments came from federal and state agencies, Indian tribes, non-governmental organizations and people from every state in America and 66 countries. The environmental impact statement for reintroducing the wolf garnered more than 100,000 comments, Karle said. Just as reintroducing wolves struck different chords with many people, so does the topic of bison management. Under an interim plan, bison that leave the park are hazed back in, shot or captured and tested for exposure to the disease brucellosis, which causes cattle to abort their young. If the captured bison have been exposed to the disease, they are sent to slaughter. In the winter of 1996-97, 1,100 park bison were killed. The spectacle of killing bison does not play well among Indians or others in Montana and elsewhere. Even the slightest chance of brucellosis being transmitted to cattle rankles the cattle industry. The draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) explored seven options for bison management produced by the government, five options forwarded by outside groups and also examined such things as the cultural and socioeconomic effects of bison management plans. Contained in the 67,520 letters were comments on 212,249 different aspects of the DEIS. A typical comment supporting the Citizen's plan was this one from an individual in Millersville, Pa.: "Yellowstone's buffalo are too important to sacrifice. The Citizen's Plan to save buffalo will maintain wild, free-roaming buffalo and protect the interests of the livestock industry in a balanced, scientific manner." But others objected to allowing bison to leave the park boundaries. "This is unacceptable to the thousands of cattle-ranching families throughout Montana, many of whom ranched just miles outside of Yellowstone's boundaries," the Montana Stockgrowers Association said.
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