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YELLOWSTONE |
IN THE NEWS TODAY: Protecting Yellowstone -- by Bruce Gourley Alternative Bison Plan -- by Institute for Global Comm. Fate of Land North of Park Uncertain -- by Bruce Gourley The Future of the Grizzly in Yellowstone -- by NPCA |
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PUBLISHER EDITOR-IN- |
 PROTECTING YELLOWSTONEby Bruce Gourley Yellowstone is a national treasure which is owned by the American public. Protecting Yellowstone is the responsibility of the American public. This weekly feature will help identify and explore the issues which are crucial to the ongoing, healthy existence of the "Crown Jewel" of America's National Park system. YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL
PARK (YNET) -- Last week U.S. District Judge Charles Lovell of Helena upheld a temporary
federal-state plan for managing Yellowstone National Park bison. Conservation groups and a Native American Tribal organization have argued that the plan is not based on sufficient research. The Greater Yellowstone Coalition and the Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund are planning on filing an appeal. Yellowstone's bison captured the nation's attention in the winter of 1996-97 when some 1100 who wandered out of the Park were killed because they were possible carriers of the ideas brucellosis. The slaughter reduced Yellowstone's herd by about one-third. The disease brucellosis can cause cattle to abort their calves, and ranchers fear bison may transmit it to cows, although there is no evidence that such fears are founded. Supporters of bison point out that the same ranchers do not fear the many more elk carrying the disease, although it is a proven fact that elk can transmit brucellosis to cattle. Milder winter weather, plus the interim bison management plan, prevented mass slaughter of bison last winter. However, many meteorologists are predicting a harsh winter ahead this year. Yellowstone's bison herd is the largest free roaming herd in the world, the remnants of a time when upwards of some 60,000,000 bison roamed throughout the American West. The bison, that great symbol of the American West, is now being sacrificed because of the presence of a mere 2000 nearby cattle. In reality, the bison are not a threat to the cattle, but rather the cattle are a threat to the bison. What is more important to the American public: Yellowstone's bison herd, or another 2000 head of cattle? Perhaps it is time for the cattle to be removed to accommodate the bison and to preserve the American West. |
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CONTRIBUTING WRITERS AND COLUMNISTS Ralph Maughan
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 SUPPORT GROWS FOR ALTERNATIVE
BISON PLANby the Institute for Global Communications DENVER, Col. -- On Friday, in response to the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Interagency Bison Management Plan for the State of Montana and Yellowstone National Park (DEIS), The Fund for Animals sent to the National Park Service a letter criticizing the alternatives outlined in the document which rely on the capture and slaughter, agency shooting, public hunting, quarantine and vaccination of Yellowstone bison. Along with the letter, The Fund sent a copy of its own Bison Alternative and a list of 144 organizations representing a combined membership of nine million people and 4,159 individuals, all of whom endorsed The Bison Alternative. To verify the endorsements, The Fund sent every endorsement card received to date. The same information, minus the endorsement cards, was sent to Montana Governor Marc Racicot. In addition to this information, The Fund's wildlife biologist is submitting extensive comments on the DEIS today. Among the many organizations endorsing The Fund for Animals' Bison Alternative are: American Humane Association, Animal Protection Institute, Doris Day Animal League, Earth Island Institute, Farm Sanctuary, Friends of the West, Humane Society of the United States, In Defense of Animals, Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Predator Defense Institute, Wildlife Damage Review, and World Society for the Protection of Animals. In the letter submitted on Friday, The Fund's Director of Campaigns, Michael Markarian, stated, "The substantial support for The Bison Alternative verifies its credibility and importance as a management strategy for bison and cattle in Yellowstone National Park and Montana." A complete copy of The Bison Alternative is available at http://www.fund.org/alerts/tba.html and a list of organizations endorsing it is available at http://www.fund.org/alerts/groups.html . |
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| FATE OF LAND
NORTH OF YELLOWSTONE UNCERTAIN by Bruce Gourley YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. -- The board of directors of the Church Universal and Triumphant could decide as early as today whether or not to sell part of their Royal Teton Ranch to the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation has offered to buy or place conservation easements on the parcel of land which borders Yellowstone National Park. The nearly 8000 acres contains important winter range for elk, bison, mule deer, bighorn sheep, antelope and others. The U.S. government is also in contention for purchasing acreage from the Church, but although money has been designated for such a purchase, nothing is certain at this point regarding what portions of land will be sold to whom, or how the land will be used if it is purchased. |
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| THE FUTURE OF
THE GRIZZLY IN YELLOWSTONE by National Parks and Conservation Association YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. -- Should grizzly bears at Yellowstone National Park be removed from federal protection? With only two significant grizzly populations remaining south of Canada, that question has sparked a national debate. Click here to read the National Parks and Conservation story. |
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