Wyoming Takes Aim at Bison

The State of Wyoming has amended its bison hunting regulations to increase opportunities for hunters in the state. Now, in addition to the controversial hunting of Yellowstone bison in the Shoshone National Forest, the new regulations permit the hunting of bison from Grand Teton National Park who winter primarily on the National Elk Refuge near Jackson, Wyoming.

The US Fish and Wildlife Service, which manages the National Elk Refuge, has proposed to allow the Wyoming Game and Fish Department to conduct bison hunting on the refuge. Hunts will also be permitted on surrounding public lands, including US Forest Service land, and private lands.

The proposed hunt is part of a recently approved federal-state management package. The plan calls for the bison herd to be maintained at an arbitrary size of 350-400 animals to reduce the chance of bison transmitting brucellosis to domestic cattle. As many as 30 bison may be shot in December. According to geneticists, a population this size will not retain the herd's genetic viability.

There has never been a confirmed case of bison transmitting the abortion disease, brucellosis, to cattle under natural conditions. Over the last 10 years, over 3,000 bison have been killed due to the unsubstantiated fear of disease transmission to domestic livestock. Brucellosis causes pregnant female bison, elk or cows to abort.

Since the late 1960s, the National Park Service has endorsed snowmobiles in Yellowstone and has groomed trails and roads for their use. At the same time, Park Service scientists admit that bison use of groomed trails not only facilitates their emigration out of Grand Teton into Montana where they are killed, but also that the groomed trails artificially alter bison survival rates, distribution, movements and the natural ecology of the park.

The National Park Service has recently published a draft environmental assessment analyzing the impacts of closing at least one snowmobile trail in Yellowstone Park to all winter use. This environmental assessment is a product of a lawsuit settlement between The Fund for Animals and other organizations and the National Park Service over its management of winter recreation in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks.

The National Park Service will accept public comments on its environmental assessment through December 1997. Ask them to extend the comment period. Write the Yellowstone National Park at POB 168, Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190.