Vol 3, # 28

   Friday, March 12, 1999

YELLOWSTONE
WEATHER
Highs 30s, Lows1 0s
Some Snow
 

Yellowstone Net Home Page

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK (GYC) -- The most rigorous tissue analysis in America has revealed that 13 of the first 15 Yellowstone buffalo slaughtered this winter by the Montana Department of Livestock did not have the disease brucellosis. These 13 buffalo therefore posed no risk to cattle.   They were killed needlessly.

The lab results come from Ames, Iowa, where the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service confirms that a battery of tissue tests determined that 13 Yellowstone buffalo were "culture negative."

The tests showed that only 2 out of 15 buffalo—all of them slaughtered in January and February after wandering outside Yellowstone National Park’s western boundary—were actually infected with the disease. Both infected animals were bulls which, because they cannot have abortions, pose no significant risk of introducing the disease into their environment.

"This is tragic news," said Mike Clark, Executive Director of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition. "Montana continues to needlessly slaughter one of our great symbols of the West. These studies conducted on the dead animals reveal that the state is killing off buffalo that are perfectly healthy; they posed no risk, yet now they are gone from America’s first national
park forever."

Faced with rising public concern, the Montana Department of Livestock is now using a public relations firm to coordinate its news releases and to mislead the public about the risk of disease. Since November 20, the agency has issued 18 news releases—an average of one news release every five days—containing misinformation.

For example, the agency has reported finding high percentages of captured buffalo testing  "positive" for brucellosis, implying actual infection and threat of transmission. This implication has been misleading each time the Department of Livestock has repeated it. The agency’s blood tests, administered in the field, reveal whether a buffalo is "positive" or "negative" for exposure to brucellosis, not for the disease itself. Only culture tests determine whether an animal was actually infected.

By failing to be clear about this critical distinction, the Montana Department of Livestock has deluded the public for three months, elevating the public’s perception of a disease problem far beyond the facts and justifying its continuing slaughter of Yellowstone buffalo.

"Now we know the truth," added Clark.  "But the truth apparently does not matter to the Montana Department of Livestock.  Where is the agency’s news release now, reporting that it killed 13 buffalo that did not have brucellosis?"

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CONTRIBUTING WRITERS AND COLUMNISTS

Ralph Maughan
Kim Steinbacher
Kevin Sanders
Steve Brashear
Clint Wilkes
Tim Gourley
Hon. Bob Gammage
Ruth Colter-Frick
Lee Whittlesey
Tom Mazzarisi
Russ Finley
David Monteith
Denise Elmer
Dr. Bob Bara

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK (YNET) -- If you are planning a visit to Yellowstone this summer, now is the time to be making preparations, including your lodging and activity reservations.

Yellowstone Net Travel offers the best customer service in the region and can take care of all your Yellowstone reservations, both lodging and activity needs.

Already, virtually all lodging dates in the Park are filled, so you should be prepared to stay at one of the popular Park entrances:  West Yellowstone, Gardiner, Cody or Jackson.  In addition, if you plan on taking a raft trip, make your plans now, as it one of the most popular activities in the vicinity of Yellowstone.

For more information, be sure to visit the Yellowstone Net Travel website.

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Their 25th anniversary is not the only cause for celebration at Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, Tennessee, this year.  For the first time in nearly 100 years, black bear cubs have been born within the Cumberland Plateau. In early February, three newborn bear cubs were found in a den occupied by a radio-collared sow, and another collared bear and two newborns were observed a couple of weeks later. These sightings show initial signs of success for an experimental reintroduction of black bears in the park, which began in 1995. In 1996 and 1997, 14 female bears were translocated from Great Smoky Mountains National Park and released in Big South Fork. Habitat loss, forest fragmentation, and unregulated hunting led to the extirpation of this species at the turn of the century.

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YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. (YNET) -- Yellowstone Net, nominee for RealNetwork's Streamer's Award, is seeking the support of Yellowstone fans worldwide.  Public voting for the Streamer's Award ends on March 24.   The award is the internet equivalent of the academy awards.  A group of high profile judges, including Amazon.com's Jeff Bezos, will make the final award decisions.

Go to Russ Finley's site and cast your vote.   Choose "Yellowstone National Park" on the ballot.